Deporting Myanmarese will not go down well with people of Mizoram: MP K Vanlalvena

AIZAWL:

Mizoram has urged the Centre not to deport the 300 Myanmarese who have taken refuge in the State after a military coup in the neighbouring country last month, an official said on Friday.

A delegation comprising Lok Sabha MP C Lalrosanga, Rajya Sabha member K Vanlalvena, MNF leader and State Planning Board Vice Chairman H Rammawi and MNF adviser Rosangzuala, had on Thursday met Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in Delhi to raise this issue.

The delegation urged the Ministry of Home Affairs not to deport the Myanmarese, who have crossed over into India, on humanitarian ground.

Vanlalvena said deporting the refugees will not go down well with the people of Mizoram, as the Myanmarese who have sought shelter in the state also belong to the Mizo tribe.

Also Read: Mizoram MP C Lalrosanga expresses concern over Myanmar refugees

Deporting them is not possible till normalcy returns in Myanmar, the delegation asserted.

Over 1,000 people, fleeing violence in Myanmar, have crossed over to neighbouring India’s Mizoram state since late February, Vanlalvena told news agencies on Friday.

With the number likely to increase, authorities in Mizoram are seeking the Centre’s help to build designated refugee camps near the border.

“Otherwise, all the refugees will be scattered everywhere in India,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

At least 234 people have been killed since the coup began in Myanmar, and thousands have been detained.

(Edited by Laxmi Chyrmang)