MANIPUR GOV ASSURES FACILITATING UNC-GOI TALKS ON FMR, BORDER FENCING
Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Balla on Saturday assured a delegation of United Naga Council (UNC) that he would facilitate a talk between the apex body of the Naga in Manipur with the Centre over matters related to the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and border fencing.
A delegation of the UNC called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan, Imphal, today. During the meeting, the delegation shared their views and concerns on matters related to the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and Indo-Myanmar border fencing which the Naga’s apex body has been strongly opposing implementation in the Naga areas.
The 10-member delegation requested the Governor to take up the matter with the government of India in which the Governor, in response, assured to facilitate a talk.
“The Governor gave a patient hearing to the delegation and informed them that the matter has already been taken up with the ministry of home affairs. The Governor appealed to the members of the council to maintain peace and restraint while constructive dialogue continues,” the Raj Bhavan said in a release.
The UNC and its frontal organizations including Naga based student bodies in Manipur have been strongly opposing the scrapping of the FMR and the construction of border fencing in Indo-Myanmar in “Naga homeland.”
After a 20-day deadline the UNC set on the issue seeking government’s positive response expired recently, the UNC convened an emergency presidential council on August 11 last and resolved to intensify its movement, while asserting that they “left with no choice” but to escalate protests against what it termed the “unilateral abrogation” of the FMR and fencing in “Naga homeland.”
Saturday’s meeting with the Governor was the first meeting after the emergency presidential council meeting resolved to announce a “mode of agitation” within 15 days if no positive response comes from the government side.
The meeting was arranged on the invitation of the government, UNC president Ng Lorho told the reporters while coming out of the Raj Bhavan after the meeting. He said that the Governor assured them that he would facilitate talks with the Central leaders shortly, within two or three days.
The UNC president, however, reiterated that the UNC, as resolved in its recent council meeting, will continue with its agitation plan irrespective of whether a formal invitation for dialogue is extended or not.
He said, “The demand of the Nagas remains unchanged. We are not against border fencing, but we do not want it to be constructed on Naga land,” Lorho said.
Lorho said the government had invited them following the expiry of a 20-day ultimatum served by them regarding the “unilateral abrogation” of FMR and construction of border fencing in Naga areas.
Reiterating their firm stand on the two matters, the UNC president cautioned that they were ready to launch the agitations until their demands were addressed.
In a public statement issued after the August 11 presidential council meeting, UNC had warned that the “indifferent attitude of the government demands stringent action to address and redress our grievances.”
The statement added further said it would announce the mode of agitation within 15 days if its concerns were not resolved.
While scrapping the FMR, the Centre has stepped up work on fencing the Manipur sector of Indo-Myanmar border in spite of objections raised by various civil society organizations (CSOs).
In 2024, the Centre approved Rs 30,000 crore for the construction of fencing along the Myanmar border. The BRO is currently engaged in the construction of fencing along the 398-km stretch of the Manipur sector of the international border.
New Delhi has also recently deployed a team of Survey of India (SoI) to help Border Road Organisation (BRO) in finalizing the border alignment so as to avoid hindering the fencing work due to lack of subsidiary pillars. The Centre is also proceeding with plans to fence the entire 1,643-km border with Myanmar, including the Manipur sector, as part of a broader strategy to enhance border security and manage the Free Movement Regime (FMR).