India steps up measures to check entry of Myanmar refugees
A government official says four Indian states bordering Myanmar have stepped up measures to prevent refugees from entering India through a porous border following last month’s military coup in the Southeast Asian country
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Four Indian states bordering Myanmar have stepped up measures to prevent refugees from entering India through a porous border following last month's military coup in the Southeast Asian country, a government official said Saturday.
India's Home Ministry asked the states to deal with such people strictly on a case-to-case basis on humanitarian grounds.
"I am aware of the Home Ministry directive,” Kumar Abhishek, a government administrator in Serchhip district in Mizoram state, told reporters.
The directive cautioned that the four states were not authorized to accord refugee status to anyone entering India from Myanmar, as India is not a signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol.
India’s Mizoram, Manipur Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states border Myanmar.
The government directive came after scores of people, including some police officers, entered Mizoram after the Feb. 1 coup in Myanmar.
Last week, Myanmar asked India to return several police officers who crossed the border.
Maria C.T. Zuali, a Mizoram state official in Champai district, said she received a letter from her Myanmar counterpart last week asking to return the officers to “uphold the friendship between Myanmar and India.”
Indian police have detained at least seven Myanmar police officers. They told Indian authorities they ran away because the Myanmar army was on their trail after they refused to obey orders.
Indian police did not explain what orders the officers had refused. They wore civilian clothes and were not armed.
India shares a 1,643-kilometer (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar, and is home to thousands of refugees from Myanmar in different states.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.