Imphal/Guwahati:

Only a negligible variety of Indians is prone to be impacted by the scrapping of the India-Myanmar free motion regime, whereas tightening the border with Myanmar will likely be immensely helpful for your complete nation, a retired senior military officer who has been intently monitoring the violence in Manipur and dealing on the bottom advised NDTV in an interview.

Lieutenant General LN Singh (retired), the third army officer from the northeast to have attained the second-highest rank within the Indian Army, pointed to issues brought on by smugglers, insurgents and unlawful immigrants who’ve been making the most of the free motion regime (FMR) to create hassle in Manipur.

“Removing the FMR was an appropriate step. At the end of the day, if we keep the FMR, how many people are going to be affected? How many Indians are going to be impacted? But look at the challenges. Insurgents can come, smugglers can come, there could be demographic invasion of the country. India, considering the security challenges and other factors, has done the right thing by removing the FMR,” Lt General Singh advised NDTV.

“One must understand that those who are opposing the FMR do have a point. At the end of the day, what is the amount of harm done by removing FMR? It’s very, very negligible. Except smugglers, illegal immigrants and insurgents, genuine Indians will hardly be bothered. So removing FMR is the best thing that can happen to a state such as Manipur,” mentioned the retired military officer, who led a rescue mission in Afghanistan after the Indian medical mission there was attacked in February 2010.

The FMR is an association that permits individuals from each nations to go to both facet as much as 16 km with out journey paperwork. In its present type, the FMR allows entry with out visa and passport. It started as a system post-Independence to permit tribes who share familial, social and ethnic ties on either side of the border to be in contact with their individuals.

On whether or not India’s Act East coverage will likely be impacted within the absence of the FMR, Lt General Singh mentioned FMR had all the time been there in a special type earlier than India had the Act East Policy.

“So not having FMR will not impact the policy. The Act East Policy is different. It means we have to be friendly with any government that’s running Myanmar, we have to be friendly with ASEAN, not those 100, 200, 1,000 people who create trouble,” the retired military officer mentioned, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Explaining why the misuse of the FMR can do extra hurt than not having it within the first place, Lt General Singh mentioned, “You have to understand citizenship, visa, and their core concepts. For example, an Indian citizen can go anywhere in the country for medical treatment, and use facilities provided by the government. All these facilities cost money. This money is Indian citizens’ money, in the sense that when you want a government hospital, the building has to be constructed, the doctor has to be paid, these are all done from Indian taxpayers’ money. That is why we have visa fees when we go to other countries.”

“And you’re aware that when you apply for a visa for many countries, you need to get medical insurance. They won’t give you a visa without that (medical insurance) because they don’t want to waste their nation’s resources on aliens who are coming temporarily,” mentioned Lt General Singh, who additionally headed the Intelligence Corps of the Indian Army earlier than retiring in 2018, after 40 years of service.

Home Minister Amit Shah on February 8 introduced the Centre has determined to finish the FMR “to ensure internal security of the country, and to maintain demographic structure of north-eastern states.”

The suspension of the FMR and fencing of the border follows ethnic violence in Manipur final yr between the Kuki-Zo tribes, who share ethnic ties with communities in Myanmar’s Chin State, and the Meiteis. Nearly 200 individuals had been killed in these clashes and tens of hundreds had been displaced.

The Meiteis have argued that unchecked entry of unlawful immigrants from Myanmar – utilizing the FMR – over a interval of a long time was one of many elements behind the violence.

The Kuki-Zo tribes have refuted this cost, and have accused Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who belongs to the BJP, of inciting the Meitei neighborhood for votes. Mr Singh’s administration has additionally backed scrapping of the FMR and fencing of the border, claiming insurgents from Myanmar, in addition to unlawful immigrants and drug traffickers are misusing the coverage.

Manipur Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh advised reporters on January 18 there was a risk that Myanmar-based insurgents might have entered Manipur, however there was no proof but. However, he identified “Kuki insurgents” had attacked Manipur Police commandos within the border city Moreh on January 17, killing two commandos. Moreh is at a strolling distance from Myanmar’s Tamu.

Videos of a tense stand-off between the Assam Rifles and a gaggle of armed males in Moreh emerged on social media on Saturday, elevating questions over how a couple of armed males stopped the safety forces from shifting round within the city. The incident occurred on January 17, the identical day the 2 police commandos had been killed in motion whereas returning fireplace at insurgents.

Following this, calls to scrap the suspension of operations (SoO) settlement have change into shriller. At least 25 Kuki-Zo rebel teams have signed the tripartite SoO settlement with the Centre and the state. Under this settlement, the insurgents are housed in designated camps. There have been allegations that full attendance at most of the SoO camps has not been noticed.

“Remove SoO Agreement”: Civil Society Group

A high civil society group in Manipur immediately requested the Home Ministry to finish the SoO agreement with the Kuki-Zo militants to make sure the security “of our security forces and the people of Manipur”.

“In the disturbing video, taken by Assam Rifles personnel on January 17, 2024, about 25-30 Kuki-Zo militants are seen taking aim with their automatic weapons, threatening to throw grenades, and plant an improvised explosive device (IED) under the armoured vehicle. They are also seen loading a round inside a rocket launcher,” the Meitei Heritage Welfare Foundation mentioned in an announcement.

“The Kuki-Zo militants successfully stopped the Assam Rifles’ convoy from heading to the area where the militants had ambushed and killed two Manipur Police commandos. Two others were injured,” the civil society group mentioned. “The videos from January 17 add to the mountain of evidence of Kuki-Zo militants violating the tripartite SoO agreement signed between some 25 Kuki-Zo militant groups, the central government, and the state government,” it mentioned within the assertion.

Tensions between the hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis have been lingering on for 9 months since clashes broke out between the 2 communities over disagreements on land, sources, political illustration, and affirmative motion insurance policies. The two communities are sharply divided now, with individuals from both neighborhood not going to areas the place these from the opposite neighborhood reside.

The Manipur authorities maintains it’s attempting to uproot insurgents from the strategic border city Moreh, whereas the Kuki-Zo tribes in Moreh have alleged the federal government desires to occupy the realm earlier than a political dialogue has even began on find out how to finish the Manipur violence.