Kohima rally opposes Indo-Myanmar border fencing, demands restoration of free movement regime

‘Not afraid to die’

Khampei Konyak, from Longwa village in Mon district, said that requiring border pass to go to one’s own field is “frustrating.”

“Will we be required to take border pass to go to our own bedroom and to go to the kitchen to eat food?” he questioned, referring to Longwa Chief Angh’s house, which is divided into two by the imaginary boundary.

“We will never agree to it. For our village, for dividing our village, we will not be afraid to die,” he said.

Before Indian independence, in 1670, the people of Longwa migrated from Arunachal Pradesh to the present location.

“In 1971, the Indian Army constructed boundary pillars by bringing in the materials on helicopter. Back then, the villagers were unaware of the intention. Two boundary pillars—No. 154 and No. 155—with Myanmar were erected without the consultation of the village people. Two more boundary pillars, No. 156 and No. 157, were also erected with Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.

According to him, 50% of Longwa now falls under Myanmar and the rest 50% under India. To address the issue, he urged the political leaders and the public to unite and stand against the border fencing.

P Shingnya, from Dan village in Noklak district, said that before India and Myanmar got independence from the British, their forefathers had settled and lived for centuries on their land without any issue.

Now, about 100-something villages of Khiamniungan are under Myanmar, and about 6500 hectares of Pangsha fall under Myanmar, he said.

In 2016, survey teams from both Myanmar and India came to the border, saying it was for road development, he said. However, they later realised that it was for fencing when they started planting posts.

Both “Burma and India lied” to the people, he said. Currently, there is restriction on movement of vehicles from both sides, and they are not allowed to collect firewood from their own fields, Shingnya said.

“If fencing must be put up, then it should be in Chindwin and Khandi,” he said.

Timikha, senior advocate, and K Shiwoto Wotsa, the president of Kohima Sumi Hoho, also addressed the rally.

19 Naga tribes submit memorandum

A memorandum submitted to the Union Home Minister through the Nagaland governor after the rally carried the signature of leaders representing 19 units of Naga tribes.

It included Angami Public Organisation, Konyak Union Kohima, Kohima Lotha Hoho, Chakhesang Hoho Kohima, Sangtam Union Kohima, Rengma Public Organisation Kohima, Tikhir Union Kohima, Chang Union Kohima, Khiamniungan Union Kohima, Maram Union Kohima, Poumai Naga Union Kohima, Tangkhul Union Kohima, Yimkhiung Union Kohima, Pochury Union Kohima, Nagaland Zeliang People’s Organisation Kohima, Kohima Ao Union, Phom Union Kohima, Kohima Sumi Hoho, and Mao Union Kohima.

It demanded the HM to “immediately stop Indo-Myanmar border fencing, restore the Free Movement Regime in its original form and withdraw the Protected Area Permit (PAP) from Nagaland.”

In the name of introducing a new system to regulate cross-border movement of people, the Centre has yet again violated the historical and cultural rights of the Naga indigenous people, it stated.

The Naga tribes highlighted the historical and indigenous rights of the Nagas. “India's few decades of existence as a nation-state cannot negate the fact that much before the modern Indian nation-state came into being, the indigenous Nagas had long established their homeland in the Naga Hills (the present-day India-Myanmar borderlands). It is this reality from where the Nagas derive their historical rights,” they stated.

Revoke new 'border pass' system

“We demand the immediate revocation of the new guidelines for movement of indigenous Nagas in their own ancestral homeland. For the Nagas living in the India-Myanmar borderlands, the international border is just an imaginary line,” read the memorandum.

Forcing the people to obtain a 'border pass' to move in their land is unacceptable, it stated, adding that since its implementation, residents of bordering districts have been bearing the brunt of the new system.

Stop border fencing plan

“We oppose erecting border fences on the India-Myanmar border, as we are against the idea of dividing our ancestral land. Constructing fences along the border and dividing our people and our land is an outright violation of our indigenous rights,” the memorandum stated. It appealed to the Centre to restore the FMR in its entirety and to its original form.

Withdraw PAP

It demanded immediate withdrawal of PAP/Restricted Area Permit (RAP) from Nagaland. The PAP/RAP, with the new 'border pass system, exposes the “sinister design of the government of India, as the two form a lethal combination that can be used against our people for no fault of theirs”, it stated.

“Further, the imposition of Protected Area Permit (PAP) will virtually stop the visit of foreign tourists to the festivals of Nagaland,” it added.