India is preparing to build temporary refugee camps on its eastern border for more than 10,000 Burmese who have fled recent fighting in Myanmar’s Chin state and Sagaing region.
Members of the Indian parliament and Manipur state government officials, traveling in about 40 cars on March 26, visited the villages where the refugees have taken refuge in Moreh township, the refugees said.
The officials told the refugees they plan to build three or four camps across the border from the Myanmar city of Tamu and about two miles from the Indian town of Moreh. Each camp will be able to house about 5,000 refugees, and the refugees will have to stay in the camps, not in nearby Indian villages, a refugee told Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity.
The Manipur state government has formed a sub-committee consisting of state government ministers to coordinate the construction of the camps, India-based media reported. The refugees said Manipur officials told them they would have to return home if the situation in Myanmar stabilizes.
But one refugee said the site might be too close to the Myanmar border.
“The perpetrators can come in and attack because of their location,” the person said. “It would be a different story if the Indian authorities could guarantee security. Otherwise, the Myanmar junta forces can reach that place at any time.”
The terms of the plan are not yet clear
The Indian government should not only ensure the safety of the refugees, but should also allow humanitarian aid from international and other organizations without restrictions, said Salai Dokhar, founder of India For Myanmar, which helps Myanmar refugees in India. .
“Will there be free access for international and civil aid organizations to help refugees?” she asked. “Will the Indian government directly provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees? Since these important points have not been included in his explanation, we are still in a position to investigate the plan.
Among those who fled to Manipur, there are about 50 members of the Civil Disobedience Movement, according to the cooperators. the movement has saw tens of thousands of Myanmar government employees leave their jobs in protest of the February 2021 military coup
A CDM member said refugees would be safer in Manipur if they were issued refugee recognition cards and allowed to live in villages rather than refugee camps.
“We will be more in favor of the plan if the location of the camps moves further from the border line,” the CDM member said.
If the refugees “build as clean houses as they can and spend their own money, they will get along with the chiefs of the Indian villages,” he said.
In recent months, Manipur police have arrested at least 170 Myanmar refugees taking refuge in villages along the border in Moreh township. Those refugees would be released and allowed to live in the temporary refugee camp once it is built, according to refugees who spoke with members of the Manipur government subcommittee.
RFA contacted the Indian Embassy in Yangon and the Myanmar Embassy in Delhi via emails about the opening of a temporary refugee camp for Myanmar refugees in Manipur, but did not immediately receive a response.
Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
