Should Rohingya refugees be given shelter in Manipur?

In the border state of Manipur, the issue of Rohingyas have become a major political debate. While few support to give shelter to the refugees, others don't.

Imphal, Sep 12: In the border state of Manipur, the debate over whether to give shelter or not to the Rohingya refugees, who are leaving their home country of Myanmar in thousands to escape violence and persecution at the hands of the country's military, is not mere a political issue, but something that directly impact people of the northeastern state of the country.

Since Manipur-Myanmar border is very porous, officials say that there is all likelihood of the minority Rohingya refugees crossing the border to find shelter in the state. In fact, Manipur shares a 364km-long border with Myanmar, which is pretty extensive to keep a close watch on.

The five districts of Manipur which share border with the neighbouring country are Ukhrul, Kamjong, Chandel, Tengnoupal and Churachandpur.

As more than three lakh Rohingya refugees have crossed the Myanmar border since last one month after clashes broke out between militants of the minority Rohingya community and the government, Manipur police have tightened vigil along the border to check possible influx from the neighbouring country.

According to an estimate of the United Nations, nearly 1,000 Rohingya people have died during the clashes in Myanmar's northwestern state of Rakhine. Officials in Manipur maintain that they are doing their best to stop exodus of the Rohingya people to India.

An official said that in the border town of Moreh, trade between Manipuris and Myanmarese is a regular feature. Taking advantage of the situation, the refugees could easily enter Manipur along with the regular traders if proper checking is not done, added the official.

According to official reports, till now there is no report of Rohingya refugees entering Manipur or making attempts to cross the border for taking shelter in the state. While several human rights organisations strongly feel that the refugees from the neighbouring country should be given shelter on a temporary basis in Manipur like in 1988, other citizens' forums say that the state government should keep a strong vigil on border areas to stop entering of Rohingyas into Manipur.

Hundreds of Myanmarese fled their country in 1988 during the crackdown by the then military junta on supporters of pro-democracy movement. At that time several of the refugees entered Manipur through Moreh.

In fact, the refugees were given shelter at a Manipur Rifles camp in Chandel district with UN refugee status. Over the years, they returned to their country.

Mohammad Jalal, president of the All Manipur Muslim Organisations Coordinating Committee, said if people from Myanmar's troubled region arrive in the state, they should be given shelter with UN refugee status so that they can return after the situation normalises.

However, the Joint Committee on Inner-Line Permit System, a conglomerate of citizens, demanded that the state government be alert and not allow trouble in the state as a result of fleeing refugees entering Manipur.

On Monday, the UN human rights chief slammed Myanmar's apparent "systematic attack" on the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning that "ethnic cleansing" seemed to be underway.

"Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed, but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told the UN Human Rights Council.

Zeid also flayed any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar when the ethnic minority community is facing violence in their country.

OneIndia News