Bilateral agreement can check illegal immigration : Ibobi
'Govt making incoherent, contradictory statements'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 22 2024: Former Chief Minister and CLP leader Okram Ibobi has stated that the issue of illegal immigration can be resolved if India and Myanmar can come to a bilateral agreement on the issue.

Speaking at the 7th death anniversary function of former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing at Congress Bhavan here today, Ibobi lashed out at the incumbent Government saying that it is highly irresponsible and making all kinds of incoherent and contradictory statements.

There were unwanted incidents or violent conflicts in the past too but unlike the present conflict there was no restriction on the movement of people from one district to another, Ibobi said.

Bilateral agreement can check illegal immigration : Ibobi

There might have been many grievances against the Congress Government when it was in power.

Some people said that the hill people and the plain people had been polarised under the Congress Government.

This allegation stemmed from their grievances against the Congress Government.

But there was neither any disagreement between the hill people and the plain people nor was there any restriction on movement of people from one district to another when the Congress party was in power, the former Chief Minister asserted.

The present crisis is largely a result of the BJP Government's mismanagement, mishandling of the situation and failure to take up immediate control measures, Ibobi stated.

He said that the situation aggravated to the present stage on account of the Government's failure to act in time.

"As Manipur-Myanmar boundary is an international boundary, we put strong pressure on the Government of India to start border fencing along the Manipur sector of Indo-Myanmar border in 2010.We also pointed out that the unfenced, porous border would have serious political and socio-economic implications on Manipur.

Subsequently, the Government of India started the border fencing work along a stretch of 10 Kms", Ibobi said.

While a large number of people do not want unregulated cross-border movement, some people want free movement across the international border.

There are also many anti-social elements, he said.

He also appealed to the public to recall the role of ICHAM then.

Those people working in collusion with underground elements prevented the border fencing work on the excuse that the border fencing entailed loss of large tracts of Manipur's territory and the Manipur (India)-Myanmar boundary should be re-surveyed, the former Chief Minister recounted.

Pointing out that the border fencing work has now resumed, Ibobi urged the people to check if it entails loss of Manipur's territory.

As for the Free Movement Regime, it was there since the British period.

At that time, people of the two countries were allowed to travel 40 Kms inside each other's territory without any document, he said.

Free Movement Regime is a bilateral arrangement and it cannot be scrapped unilaterally.

Although the Government of India claimed that the FMR has been scrapped, the Government of Myanmar has said nothing on the matter, Ibobi said before appealing to the citizens to ask the Government of India whether the FMR has been actually scrapped or not.

If the FMR should be scrapped, it must be done under a bilateral agreement between India and Myanmar, he said.

Fencing the Manipur section of Indo-Myanmar border will not be enough to check the issue of illegal immigration until and unless the Mizoram and Nagaland sectors are also fenced, he asserted.

Observing that it would be hard to bring a solution until and unless talks are held between the Kuki and Meitei communities with the Government of India acting as peacemaker or facilitator, the former Chief Minister urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene and work out a permanent solution.

He further appealed to the Prime Minister to come to Manipur, visit relief camps and try to understand the sufferings of IDPs.