The letter from the Ministry
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 09, 2013 -

The reported letter from the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India persuading the Government of Manipur not to send its Ministerial team for inspection in border areas in the interest of maintaining cordial relationship between the two neighbouring countries has only confirmed the worst fear of the people - Sacrificing the interest of Manipur and its people for the sake of maintaining 'cordial relationship' between India and Myanmar.

On August 28 last, Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, who also holds the portfolio of Home, had announced that a Ministerial team led by himself would visit the border area to make an assessment and get a firsthand knowledge on the ongoing border fencing along the yet to be demarcated Indo-Myanmar International boundary that would result in loss of a large chunk of Manipur's land to Myanmar.

But on getting wind of this proposed visit by a Ministerial team to the disputed border areas, the Union Ministry of External Affairs has reportedly written a letter to Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh instructing him not to send the Ministerial team as this would give out a wrong message to the Myanmarese Government with which the Government of India has been trying hard to improve the bilateral relationship and co-operating in any ways including controlling cross border terrorism.

The letter from the Union Ministry of External Affairs, which has also confirmed the reason behind the ominous silence that the Government of India has been maintaining over the border dispute with Myanmar regardless of the public outcry and demand for suspension of the ongoing border fencing till a final settlement is reached, is surely going to act a litmus test for the Congress-led Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh Government, which has time and again assured the people that not an inch of Manipur's land would be given to anyone.

In the light of the letter from the Ministry, it is very obvious that a loyalist like Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh would now be pondering over a thousand time before sending any Ministerial team to the border areas but the people of Manipur and more particularly, the Opposition parties in the State, are not likely to take the issue lightly in case the Chief Minister succumbs to the pressure from the Ministry and fails to send the Ministerial team for inspection when news have come in of Myanmarese Army setting up and operating its platoon base camp within Haolenphai village despite the claim of the Assam Rifles that Myanmarese authorities have been prevailed upon from incursion.

So, now is the time for Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh to decide which one is dearer to him – his loyalty to New Delhi or the land and his people at home.