Kohima: Nagaland’s Rising People’s Party (RPP), on Thursday, said that the Government of India’s announcement to end the Free Movement Regime (FMR) should serve as a wake-up call for the Naga people.
The party said that the NDPP-BJP coalition government should strongly oppose the proposed scrapping of the FMR.
“The New Year has begun on an ominous note for the tribal states of Northeast and the Naga people. The decision of the central government to end the Free Movement Regime (FMR) which allows people residing on either side of the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without visa,is alarming and a wake-up call for Nagas,” the party said.
“If necessary, all the 60 MLAs should meet either the Prime Minister or his Home Minister and convey the strong feelings of the Naga people that under no circumstances the construction of the fencing will be allowed,” the party added.
As Nagas are already the “most geographically divided people”, the party said that the proposed visa travel and the plans to construct high security fencing along the border will only heighten the divide amongst the Naga people.
“Therefore, any policy that aims to further divide us should be opposed tooth and nail,” the party said.
RPP urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uphold the age-old mechanism which allows people across borders to converge and live as honourable peoples, whether Nagas or Zo-Kuki.
“Various forms of FMR has been in place since the creation of the state in 1963 respecting the needs and the sentiments of the Naga people living on both sides of the border, and this needs to be respected and upheld,” the party said.
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According to RPP, the ineptitude of CM Biren Singh and his “communal policies” cannot be the excuse for the central government to scrap the FMR.
“It may be recalled that in 2017 the Burmese junta proposed to fence the international border near Pangsha under Noklak district but was subsequently dropped due to strong and spirited opposition by the people,” the party added.
Also Read | Union govt’s plan to abolish FMR will likely impact NE states