Imprisoned Myanmar refugees go on hunger strike in India

Dozens of Myanmar refugees detained in India’s Manipur State have gone on hunger strike to demand that authorities there release them and promise not to hand them over to the junta in their home country. The strike, at a prison in the state capital Imphal, began on Sunday with 28 protesters and has since grown to include 99 inmates, according to a statement released on Tuesday by Salai Dokhar, the founder of advocacy group India for Myanmar. The protesters say they should be freed because they have already completed their sentences for “squatting” in the state, which has attracted thousands of refugees since the Myanmar military seized power in February 2021. “They have all served their sentences to the full term and they have already paid the fines. They had to resort to protesting because they were still keeping them although they had already completed their prison terms,” said Salai Dokhar. He added that the refugees also fear for their safety if they are forcibly repatriated, and want to be allowed to return to Myanmar on their own rather than being transferred to junta custody. Prison authorities reportedly used force in an attempt to break up the protest, but have since withdrawn as the strike continues. Salai Dokhar said the prisoners have vowed to continue their protest until the authorities meet their demands. However, no negotiations are currently taking place, and appeals to foreign embassies based in India have so far gone unanswered. While the strikers include some prisoners who were detained before the coup for illegally entering India to work as weavers, most are war refugees who have fled fighting in Myanmar. According to Khonumthung, a news agency based in Chin State, a total of 99 men and 60 women and children from Myanmar are being held in Imphal Central Jail for holding fake documents and residing in Manipur without authorisation. Manipur’s state government has been arresting refugees from Myanmar in response to the central government’s policy of not accepting civilians displaced by conflict across the border in Chin State and Sagaing Region. On Saturday, the state’s chief minister, N. Biren Singh, wrote on social media platform X that authorities had collected the biometric data of 5,173 out of 5,457 illegal migrants from Myanmar and were preparing to send them back to the country. Manipur’s neighbouring state of Mizoram has taken a softer stance on the refugee issue and has allowed many to remain and even given them access to healthcare and freedom of movement. Among those sheltering in the state are elected MPs from Myanmar’s ousted civilian government.

Imprisoned Myanmar refugees go on hunger strike in India

The protesters say they have completed their sentences and want to be released with promises that they won’t be handed over to junta authorities

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