Deportation delayed for more than 70 Myanmar nationals detained in India

More than 70 Myanmar nationals in India’s northeastern Manipur state remain stranded in detention as a plan to deport them has been postponed, according to sources close to the individuals. The Indian government announced it would return the 77 people, most of whom are women and children, from the border town of Moreh to Myanmar between March 8 and 11, noting that they had completed prison sentences in Manipur’s Imphal Central Jail for illegally entering the country. Quoting Manipur’s chief minister N. Biren Singh, international wire services initially reported on March 8 that the deportations had already begun. “First batch of Myanmar nationals who entered India illegally deported today,” the chief minister said on social media, without specifying the number of people. “Although India is not signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it has given shelter & aid to those fleeing the crisis in Myanmar on humanitarian grounds with a systematic approach,” Singh said. Citing a family member of one of the detainees, news agency RFA reported on Tuesday that Indian authorities had brought 38 women from the jail to a military camp in Moreh by helicopter, but that Myanmar junta officials had “refused to accept them.” Myanmar Now confirmed that the deportation plan did not go ahead, and that the refugees were returned to prison or were being held at Indian military sites. “Over 30 people are currently being held at the rifle gate in Assam after being airlifted from Imphal jail,” said Salai Dokhar, the founder of India for Myanmar, a local aid group. “The rest of the people were taken back to Imphal from the airport. The Myanmar junta team did not coordinate with them. That’s why it has been delayed.” The efforts continued over the weekend, he added, but failed. “They prepared on Saturday and Sunday to send them back on Monday through the border gate,” Salai Dokhar explained. “On Sunday, they were suddenly sent back from the airport to Imphal jail.” Junta representatives did not return Myanmar Now’s request for comment. A relative of one of the 38 women initially sent to Moreh—which is opposite Tamu in Sagaing Region—said that the group was still being held there as of Tuesday. “The Indian prison authorities told them that they still cannot return because the Myanmar authorities are not taking them,” the family member said on the condition of anonymity. Most of the detainees in question are reportedly from Magway and Sagaing regions, and crossed the border prior to Myanmar’s February 2021 coup, after which fierce fighting broke out in northwestern Myanmar. Many had been working locally in Manipur as weavers. After their arrest, they were fined and held in Imphal jail for more than a year, and at one point, protested the conditions under which they were detained with hunger strikes. “What they fear most is being sent back to prison in Manipur,” another family member told Myanmar Now. “If the Myanmar [military] authorities do not accept them, their choice is to live in Moreh or go to Mizoram,” the individual said, referring to a neighbouring Indian state perceived as being more welcoming to Myanmar refugees than Manipur. “They want to go there—they are asking for help.” On March 9, India for Myanmar called on the Indian government to hold off on again attempting to hand the 77 detainees over to the junta and instead urged the local authorities to coordinate with Myanmar’s publicly mandated National Unity Government, civil society organisations, and UN agencies. India, Salai Dokhar said, “should be more understanding when it comes to standards of democracy and human rights” concerning the repatriation. He noted that communications with Manipuri authorities had “gone dark” since tension between the majority Meitei Hindus and minority Kuki Christian communities erupted into violence the state that left hundreds dead and displaced tens of thousands. In August, a Myanmar refugee in Moreh described Manipur as a “very dangerous area,” after thousands who fled war in their neighbouring homeland became targets of Meitei extremists who had labelled them “illegal immigrants” and “narco terrorists.” The India for Myanmar local aid organisation reported at that time that a special commando group had carried out household raids across Moreh and arrested at least 170 refugees from Myanmar, forcing many more to hide in the surrounding jungles and even return back across the border. The Indian government is in the process of erecting a 1,020-mile-long fence along its border with Myanmar and has announced plans to withdraw visa-free entry for Myanmar nationals at its crossings. According to UN figures compiled last year, there were nearly 50,000 people from Myanmar seeking refuge in India, of whom 38,000 people were in Mizoram and almost 7,000 were in Manipur.

Deportation delayed for more than 70 Myanmar nationals detained in India

After the junta turns away the group, local advocates ask the Indian authorities to allow the individuals to stay, or to coordinate their return with the UN, civil society and the National Unity Government

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