FREE MOVEMENT REGIME

Subject: Internal Security

Context: In halls, safehouses, Myanmar nationals pray India does not send them back: ‘will be killed’.

Concept:

Free movement regime (FMR)

The formation of Myanmar as a separate State in 1935 and decolonisation of the sub-continent in 1947 divided ethnic communities living along the Indo-Myanmar border.
These communities, particularly Nagas, found the newly created boundary to be inconsistent with the traditional limits of the region they inhabited. And they felt a deep sense of insecurity because they became relegated to the status of ethnic minorities on both sides of the border.
To address their concerns and enable greater interaction among them, the Indian and Myanmarese governments established the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allowed Nagas to travel 16 kilometres across the border on either side without any visa requirements.
Both countries are intend to put common system in place to append India’s concerns.

Why FMP is causing issues now?

Free movement regime is being misused by militants and trans-border criminals who smuggle weapons, contraband goods and fake Indian currency notes.
Taking advantage of the free-movement regime, occasionally they enter India, commit crimes and escape to their relatively safer hideouts.