An interview with Salai Dokhar, founder of India for Myanmar.
People from Myanmar, especially from Kalay-Kabaw area and Chin State, were forced to flee to the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur due to the civil war following the military coup. Those who sought refuge in Mizoram received assistance from the government and the public, but those fled to Manipur were arrested and detained by the Manipur government.
In an interview with Khonumthung Media Group (KMG), Salai Dokhar, founder of India for Myanmar, talks about the current situation of refugees in Manipur State and the central government’s policy and position towards them.
Q: Can you explain the current situation in Manipur State where refugees from Myanmar are being arrested? How many of them have been arrested and where are they being held?
A: People from Myanmar have fled to India after 1 February 2021 due to internal insecurity. They have sought refuge in the Indian states of Miroram, Manipur and Nagaland. There are about 10,000 of them in Manipur, and about 400 of them have been arrested. This figure was given by the chief minister of Manipur himself in parliament. Some of them are accused of drug and arms trafficking, while others have been arrested under the Foreigners Act. Till date, it can be estimated that 170-180 of them have been charged under the Foreigners Act. So, Manipur authorities have been arresting them all along.
Q: Where do most of those arrested come from?
A: They’re mainly from Sagaing and Magway Regions. Most of them are from Tamu and Kalay in Sagaing Region and some from Magway. They’re also from Tedim and Tonzang in Chin State. Roughly speaking, all the refugees in New Lamka (village) and Moreh district are from Myanmar
Q: We have heard that there have been deaths among detained refugees from Myanmar in the past. What is the status of their medical care in prison?
A: We have heard that medical care is provided in detention centers depending on the patient’s illness. But the lack of cleanliness, clean water, adequate floor mats, and insufficient nutritious meals in detention centers probably poses a serious risk to those who have an underlying health condition. In the case of the one person who died in the detention center, it’s not known whether he or she had an underlying disease because the results of the investigation aren’t yet available. But one thing is certain: our own members, including his lawyer, have determined that his death might have been caused by the inconveniences in the detention center. Normally, medical care is provided only when someone has a serious illness. Elderly people in detention centers often become ill and need to be hospitalized. Those who are detained under the Foreigners Act aren’t allowed to receive prison visits or food from Myanmar. And since we aren’t allowed to meet them in detention centers freely, we can’t get information on whether their current status has changed since his death. But even before that, the restrictions have been tightened to the point where food from Myanmar can no longer be delivered to the refugees in the centers. So we don’t know if the status of health care has changed. Before his death, the health situation was very risky and they were living under great difficulties.
Q: Many people have sought refuge in India because of the political turmoil in Myanmar. Most of them are in Mizoram, for example. In Mizoram, there are no such arrests and the regional government is even providing assistance. But why does the Minipur government arrest refugees from Myanmar?
A: First of all, because the Mizoram government, which is under a political party that emerged from the people of Mizoram, continues to take care of us against the will of the central government. We’re very pleased that it is systematically issuing temporary residence permits to us to show that it cares about us. For their help, the people of Myanmar are deeply indebted to the Mizoram government. What is different about the state of Minipur is that it’s directly governed by the BJP, which forms the central government. The Indian central government maintains a policy of not accepting refugees. Secondly, the Chief Minister of Manipur first arrested the refugees on the pretext of illegal immigration, then on the pretext of collecting voters’ lists, and another charge for their arrest is illegal drug trafficking. I think that just before the elections, they’re inventing different pretexts to get more people to support them through these activities and use them politically. Especially, they’re exploiting the situation politically by rounding up the refugees from Myanmar to get people to support them. They have been constantly persecuting the refugees by accusing them of entering their country illegally. The current action of the Manipur government is so intransigent and inhuman that it tarnishes its own reputation and that of democracy in India as a whole. The Manipur government’s reasons for arresting refugees depend partly on the policies of the central party, and it’s also likely that these arrests are being made under various pretexts to win popular support in the upcoming elections. It’s therefore likely that they’ll continue to do so.
Q: Civil society organizations at home and abroad, including your organization, issued a statement protesting the arrest of refugees from Myanmar in Manipur state. Did anything special happen after that?
A: There have been no official statements recently, but one thing that has changed is that they started using the term “illegal entry” and then cracked down on the refugees under the pretext of drug trafficking. However, in discussions with government officials, we have found that they cite reasons such as the introduction of a temporary residency model as in Mizoram. Since there is no official announcement or action from the government, we can’t say anything specific yet.
Q: How should the situation of refugees from Myanmar in Manipur be addressed?
A: First and foremost, the Indian state government needs to change its policy. Originally it had a neutral policy, but what the Indian central government is doing now isn’t neutral, but rather cooperating with the Myanmar military council. Currently, we have heard that a member of parliament from Manipur has visited Moreh to check the prospects of trade with Myanmar, and that the Assam Rifles have entered Paletwa Township in Chin State to check the security situation in the area. These are the signs that India is trying to restore its interests in Myanmar. So India is applying a policy in Myanmar that has been applied by China for ages and no longer makes sense. Meanwhile, even China has realized that normal engagement with the junta isn’t beneficial and has instead reduced it to a certain level and found certain ways to work with the ethnic armed groups and the revolutionary groups. So if India pursues self-interest in Myanmar with the policy abandoned by China, it’ll never succeed. Whether India pursues self-interest in Myanmar, seeks democratic values, or competes with China, it’ll never be able to afford to turn a blind eye to refugees from Myanmar and revolutionary forces in Myanmar. If they do, their self-interests will never succeed.
Q: What else would you like to add?
A: The most important thing I’d like to add is that India is thinking of helping the Myanmar military council either diplomatically or militarily first and then pursuing its own interests in Myanmar. If India does business in Myanmar by cooperating with the military council and paying taxes to the regime, it’s indirectly contributing to the atrocities of the junta. In this situation, even if India doesn’t support the revolution in Myanmar under its neutral policy, it would be best for India to help the refugees from Myanmar either according to the international democratic standards or in recognition of international law. So at this point, I’d ask that India stand by its own policy. The people of Myanmar will never accept India’s cooperation with the military council. Instead, such a move will put India in a position where it faces even more threats from China. Therefore, I’d once again urge India to reconsider its current position and change its policy towards Myanmar as soon as possible.
Sent by KMG.