Lalduhoma said his government will not collect biometric data of Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees
Aizawl:
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Thursday said his government will not collect biometric details of Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees.
The Chief Minister said the Center is providing assistance to the state government to provide relief to refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh and internally displaced people (IDPs) of Manipur who are taking shelter in the state.
Lalduhoma told the state Assembly that the Home Ministry had directed the state to collect biometric data of Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees in April 2023.
Although the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government had initially taken the initiative on the Centre’s instructions by conducting training and appointing nodal officers, the Council of Ministers in its meeting held in September last year decided not to conduct biometric and biographical enrollment for Myanmar and Bangladesh. decided to. Lalduhoma said the refugees felt it was not appropriate to undertake biometric and biographical preparations due to the state assembly elections to be held in November that year.
“Our government has decided not to collect biometric details of Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees. During my meeting with the Union Home Minister in January, I told him that the Center is using the existing portal, which is being used for deportation of illegal immigrants. It is for biometric details of refugees,” Lalduhoma said while responding to a question by opposition MNF member Robert Romawia Royte.
He said citizens of Myanmar and Bangladesh who have taken refuge in the state fear deportation due to the Centre’s directive to collect biometric data from them. The Chief Minister said, on request, the Home Minister assured him that no refugee would be deported until peace is restored in the neighboring countries.
He said that the state government is providing assistance to the refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh and IDPs from Manipur from its own resources. He also said that the Center gave Rs 3 crore during the MNF regime and is continuously helping the present state government in providing assistance to refugees and IDPs.
According to the state home department, a total of 32,221 Myanmar nationals have taken refuge in different parts of the state, with Champhai district having the highest number of 12,484 Myanmar refugees.
It said at least 1,167 Bangladeshi nationals were also taking shelter in Longtlai district in southern Mizoram. The Home Department said more than 9,000 internally displaced people from Manipur are in Mizoram.
Refugees from Myanmar have taken refuge in the state since February 2021 after the military junta seized power, while Bangladeshi civilians have sought refuge in the state since November 2022 due to a military offensive by the Bangladesh Army against an ethnic insurgent group in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Had fled to Mizoram. ,
The Kuki-Zo people of Manipur have taken refuge in Mizoram since May last year following ethnic violence against the Meitei community.
The Chin people of Myanmar, the Bawm community of Bangladesh and the Kuki-Zo people of Manipur share ethnic ties with the Mizos.
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