Request the Manipur government not to hand over the Burmese who will be repatriated to the military council

While the state government is planning to deport Myanmar nationals detained in detention centers in Manipur state, India For Myanmar has requested the state government to arrange a safe way for the repatriated Myanmar refugees to return home and not to return them to the Myanmar Military Council.

Some local news outlets have reported that the state government has started the process of repatriating 77 Burmese detainees.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biran Singh has told some local media that it is not possible to repatriate all of them at once due to the large number of Myanmar nationals who have been arrested.

Currently, there are 30 Burmese women who will be repatriated to an Indian army camp on the India-Myanmar border, and there is a situation where the Military Council will hand them over, said Salaid Dokhar, the founder of India For Myanmar.

"It was written in some Indian media that it should be handed over to the officials based in Tamu. They were told to wait because they were supposed to come from Burma, so the control of Tamu City was just beginning. That's why Tamu's side often has to hand it over."

A woman who was there contacted India For Myanmar that there are about 30 Burmese women and children who will be sent back to the Indian army in Moreh.

"On March 9, 20 people arrived; On the 8th day, eight people arrived, There are about 30 people. Just women and children. They said 19 more men would arrive after the girls."

The Manipur government has not released any details about these situations, and the Burmese Military Council has not yet released any information.

After the Indian government decided to fence along the India-Myanmar border and close the freedom of movement, the repatriation process was implemented.

Salaid Dokhar said that due to the current situation in Myanmar, repatriation through the military council is a security concern.

"All those arrested are from Sagaing and Magwe communities. The likelihood that such places will be willingly sent back to begin with is extremely low.”

India For Myanmar urges to implement three other methods instead of returning those detained in India through the Myanmar Military Council.

“The first route is after connecting with NUG. Even if it is not NUG, it is to connect with the revolutionary forces and then implement the work to return to Burma. If not, Not only the NUG, but also on the basis of humanitarianism, we can work together with intermediary civil society organizations to implement the way back home. Or Mizoram state, even if they don't give asylum in Manipur, they should give asylum in Mizoram. It is still not convenient to send them back to Burma, and it is not convenient to keep them in Manipur, so I have to accept them temporarily in Mizoram. Mizoram would have welcomed this wholeheartedly. The third is to talk to UNHCR and send New Delhi under UNHCR care. If these three are implemented by the Indian government, there will be more political integrity and security for the people of Myanmar, and it will be a mutually beneficial action. If it comes into hands, it is much more worrying than under the Indian government.”

Regarding the Myanmar nationals who will be repatriated from the Indian side, General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the Burmese Military Council, was contacted by RFA's Washington DC office by phone, but he did not answer the phone.

According to India For Myanmar, more than 150 Myanmar nationals have been detained in detention centers in Manipur state for violating the Foreigner Act, and at least 86 of them have already served their sentences.

The 77 people who are scheduled to be sent back are Burmese nationals who have already served six months in prison and fined by the Indian courts, Kosalai Dokhar said.