GUWAHATI: Chakma NGOs of Mizoram have asked Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) to think about the future of the state, expressing concern that drugs worth over Rs 100 crore was seized in Mizoram in the last 15 days itself with 134 drug peddlers/smugglers arrested during the period.
In response to a media statement of the apex students association of the state, that the Chakma NGOs of Mizoram had asked for sealing of the Mizoram-Myanmar border out of “envy of the good relations between the people of Mizoram and Myanmar”, the NGOs, in an open letter to the MZP on Friday, justified that if India’s border with Bangladesh could be fenced, the border with Myanmar should also be fenced to prevent unabated smuggling of drugs, arms and influx of foreigners.
“This is only in the shared interest of the people of India and Myanmar. It is the shared responsibility of the governments of India and Myanmar as well as all the communities whether Mizo or Chakma to protect the present as well as future generations,” Paritosh Chakma, president of the Mizoram Chakma Alliance Against Discrimination (MCAAD), said on behalf of the Chakma NGOs of Mizoram.
The drugs seized by the Mizoram authorities included 39 lakh tablets of methamphetamine weighing 429 kg and worth Rs 97.5 crore (seized on February 29, 2020); 99,600 methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 2.4 crore (seized on February 13, 2020) and 137 grams of heroin worth Rs 3 lakh (seized on February 18, 2020.
“The seized drugs are only a small segment of all the drugs smuggled from Myanmar through the porous borders,” Chakma said.
In addition, Mizoram home minister Lalchamliana informed the Assembly on February 25, 2020, that 632 arms and 47,510 rounds of live ammunition have been seized by the state police since 2004, smuggled into the state mostly from Myanmar and 32 armed smugglers were arrested, of whom 12 were Myanmarese nationals.
The seized arms included 134 AK-47 rifles, 8 AK-56 rifles and 26 light machine guns, among others.
“The unabated influx of Myanmarese nationals because of the Free Movement Regime has been admitted by Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in an interview with a national newsmagazine in October 2019 who stated that “it is very difficult to identify and check Myanmarese citizens because of their ethnic similarities with our people,” he said.