Kohima: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has said that an all-party delegation will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to deliberate on the Free Movement Regime (FMR) issue with neighbouring Myanmar.
Addressing the Assembly on the fourth day of the ongoing session, he said the delegation would apprise the union minister about the “resentment of the Naga people” against the central government’s decision to scrap the FMR with Myanmar.
The chief minister assured the House that the state government would convey its stance on the Free Movement Regime at the Indo-Myanmar border to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
In January last year, the Centre announced that the FMR, which allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 kilometres into each other’s territory without visa, would end soon.
The new guidelines allow cross-border movement only for those residing within 10 km of the border and limit passage to 43 designated crossing points, including nine in Nagaland.
Border passes will be issued by Assam Rifles officials, while state authorities must deploy police and health officials at each entry/exit point.
Rio said in the assembly that these restrictions would impact Naga communities on both sides of the border, disrupting historical, social, cultural, tribal, and economic ties.
He pointed out that families frequently cross the border for agricultural work, schooling, and medical care, thus, humanitarian considerations must be central to any policy alterations.
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Rio proposed that he would lead an all-party delegation to meet the home minister at the earliest to raise the issue before him and other members of the House accepted the suggestion.
The 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar border, which passes through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, currently has FMR. It was implemented in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy.
