Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh advocates border fencing, revoking of Free Movement Regime

livemint.com:

Singh said long-time disregard for the border between India and Myanmar led to adverse consequences. He acknowledged shared cultural ties between the communities on both sides but added that earlier interventions could have prevented the existing challenges. The CM also expressed disappointment at the lack of security at the border, emphasising the inability of existing forces to simultaneously manage counter-insurgency and border protection.

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it is a 390-km border (with Myanmar) and communities on this side and that are the same tribe. They speak the same language... have the same culture.

At that time, if there had been fencing and a pass system, there would not have been problems today. But the centre at that time left us alone. There is (still) no security at the border.

There are Assam Rifles... but they can't handle both counter-insurgency and guard the border. And now we have (militants) camped inside our borders," he said.

Advocating for change, Singh reiterated his calls from September to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and fence the Myanmar border. He emphasised instances of individuals exploiting the porous border and urged for stricter controls to safeguard indigenous Manipuri people's interests. The CM attributed the current situation to the historical negligence of the region by past governments, highlighting the attention the northeast received only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.