Influx from Myanmar is root cause of Manipur strife: Amit Shah

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said Centre is talking to Meitei and Kuki communities of Manipur to resolve ethnic tensions and establish lasting peace in the st-ate, while also moving to secure Indo-Myanmar bord-er against illegal influx through fencing and endi-ng free movement regime (FMR) with Myanmar.
Listing five key initiatives taken by Modi govt since outbreak of violence in Manipur in May 2023, Shah said govt started fencing the 1,643km international border with Myanmar, "root cause of the current strife".
In addition, he said, India ended FMR arrangement with Myanmar on its side to curb illegal infiltration, successfully launched CRPF teams in strategic locations in state, plugged security and border gaps, and was actively pursuing a dialogue with Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
"A future roadmap of all such efforts to restore peace in Manipur has been prepared," he said. Stating that 30km of Indo-Myanmar border is already fenced, he said approval for fencing remaining 1,500km was also given.
While Mizoram and Arunachal share a 520km and 510km border respectively with Myanmar, Manipur shares 398km and Nagaland 215km. Hill areas of Manipur close to border are said to have seen significant influx and settling of immigrants over past years, in what security agencies see as a misuse of FMR to engineer a demographic change.
Shah said govt had earlier this year vacated its FMR agreement with Myanmar, which allowed tribes living along the border on either side visa-free travel up to 16km inside the neighbouring country. "Now, Myanmar nationals can only enter Manipur on the basis of a valid Indian visa," he said.
CRPF has been moved in significant numbers to Manipur to assist local police in law and order and security duties. In many strategic locations, CRPF companies have replaced Assam Rifles.
Stating that violence in Manipur is not terrorism but ethnic strife, he said the situation is now on the mend with no violence reported over the past three days.