Manipur govt withdraws order to politely turn away Myanmar refugees

New Delhi, Mar 30: The Manipur government has withdrawn its order barring the local authorities and civil society organisations from opening any camps for food and shelter to such refugees. The Biren Singh government had also directed that those seeking refuge in the state should be "politely turned away".

While withdrawing the order, the Special Secretary Home said that it appears that the contents of the letter have been misconstrued and interpreted differently. The state government has been taking all humanitarian steps and had recently taken all steps, including taking them to Imphal to treat the injured Myanmar nationals. The state continues to provide all aid. The government has decided to withdraw the letter dated March 26 2021, the new order also said.

"In case of grievous injuries, medical attention may be provided on humanitarian considerations," the memo issued by Special Secretary (Home), H. Gyan Prakash had said in the order dated March 26.

A PTI report on Monday quoted officials in Mizoram as saying that the number of Myanmarese nationals taking refuge in the state has crossed 1,000 since last month's military coup, and at least 100 such people were sent back to their country but they have again sneaked into the state.

A senior Mizoram home department official said that the government did not receive any further communication from the Centre on the Myanmarese refugee issue after the March 10 directive to stop illegal migration of people from that country.