Govt Asks Border States in Northeast to Deport Myanmar Refugees
Mass protests have been taking place across Myanmar since the military coup on 1 February.
The Home Ministry on Friday, 12 March, cautioned Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh to maintain strict vigil at the border shared with Myanmar.
The North East Division of Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday asked the Chief Secretaries of the four states to "sensitise all law enforcement and intelligence agencies for taking prompt steps in identifying the illegal migrants and initiate the deportation processes expeditiously and without delay," reported NDTV.
Around 100 people from Myanmar, mostly policemen and their families, have crossed over the porous border and taken shelter in Mizoram’s Champhai district bordering Myanmar since the protests began, according to a senior Indian official, quoted by Reuters.
Mizoram has had a history of providing refuge to people from Myanmar, however the order insisted that state governments do not have powers to grant "refugee status to any foreigner and India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol."
The military seized control and declared a year-long state of emergency, following a general election which Ms Suu Kyi's NLD party won by a landslide. The armed forces had backed the Opposition, who were demanding a rerun of the vote, claiming widespread fraud.
Mass protests have been taking place across Myanmar since then. Elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party are among hundreds of people detained.
Reports suggest there have been several fatalities and even deaths in remote locations, due to police brutality that included shooting live rounds at peaceful protesters.
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