HTC on border row
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 16 2013:
'Confusion, restlessness, and a feeling of insecurity brought about among the indigenous settlers following the Indo-Myanmar border imbroglio calls for a serious thinking and immediate attention by those in authority' .
Stating this in a press release, President of Hill Tribal Council, Jangmang Haokip stated that since long there has been criminal activities from across the border.
The people of Moreh constantly live in fear.
Crimes ranging from monetary demand to killing of innocent civilians in broad daylight inside Moreh have been the order of the day.
'Criminals commit such crimes in Moreh and escapes through the porous border towards the neighbouring country and there always was little the Indian Security Force could do.' This has compelled the Hill Tribal Council and other public leaders of Moreh to make repeated requests to the concerned authority to construct Border/Security fencing along the border mainly to ptotect the public.
The release also said, 'the memoranda seem to bear fruit with the construction taking shape but utterly contradicting our expectation.
Be it a border fencing or a security fencing, the ongoing construction in the middle of our villages thereby dividing out land between two countries is beyond tolerance' .
'We cannot accept protection at the cost of our land.
We remain Indian and want to remain in India.
Why should the Indian Government barter us to an alien without our consent', the release added.
It further stated, proper and thorough demarcation of land (boundary) between India and Myanmar should be made and until and unless the actual boundary is ascertained, the ongoing construction of fencing should be immediately stopped.
This is the unanimous resolution adopted during a seminar on 'Land Rights of Hill People' at Moreh on September 6 and 7.Immediate action by the concerned and competent authority in this regard is sought before things go out of proportion, it added.