Manipur govt withdraws order of ‘no food, no shelter’ to Myanmar refugees

New Delhi: Manipur government on Monday, withdrew its order which stopped the local authorities from offering food or shelter to refugees coming from Myanmar. Hundreds of people are leaving Myanmar due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Earlier the state government sent out an order on March 26, asking the border officials also to “politely turn away” the people who seek refuge in India. Order allowed only to provide medical attention in case of “grievous injuries” on “humanitarian consideration.”

The order of Biren Singh’s government had provoked outrage, with people claiming that the order was completely against the country’s tradition of humanitarianism. The order further asked the officials to immediately stop the Aadhar enrolment process and that the enrolment kits to be kept in safe custody. “People trying to enter/seek refuge should be politely turned away,” read the order.

But a new revised order was sent out on March 29 in which the state govt. stated that “it appears that the contents of the (original) letter have been misconstrued and interpreted differently.” “The state government has been taking all humanitarian steps and had recently taken all steps, including taking them to Imphal, to treat the injured Myanmarese nationals,” it said.

Myanmar has been going through a humanitarian crisis since the army seized power in a coup on February 1 by overthrowing the country’s elected government. There has been widespread bloodshed across the country since then as soldiers and police have embarked on a rampage. Saturday, March 27, was the day with most bloodshed as forces killed at least 114 people including children.

India is expecting refugees from the neighbouring country as people are trying to escape the violence. Myanmar’s Ambassador to the United Nations had also appealed the Indian government and various state governments to help the refugees given the ongoing crisis in his country.