More Than 200 Buddhist Refugees to be 'Pushed Back' from Mizoram

Aizawl, June 19, 2019:

More than 200 Buddhist refugees (Rakhine) from Myanmar, who have been living in Mizoram since November 2017 will be ‘pushed back’ as informed by the officials on Tuesday.

The additional secretary in the state’s home department, Lalbiakzama said, “The action has been initiated after a directive was issued from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the state government earlier this month.”

As per reports, the refugees will be sent back this week or the next. “The directive is to complete the process by the end of this month,” informed the deputy commissioner of Lawngtlai district, said Shashanka Ala. Lawngtlai district is in South Mizoram and it shares a border with both Myanmar and Bangladesh.

In November 2017, as fighting raged between the insurgent group- Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, 1500 Rakhine Buddhist refugees crossed over to Mizoram. Arakan Army, an insurgent outfit is fighting for a confederate status for Rakhine state.

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These refugees mostly came in boats, took shelter in four border villages in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district — Laitlang, Hmawngbuchhua, Zochachhua, and Dumzautlang.

However, most refugees were pushed back. But 219 of them still continued to live in Hmawngbuchhua, a village which is also mostly inhabited by Rakhine people and falls under the Lai Autonomous District Council.

The local Lais also suspected the refugees to have links with the Arakan Army.

These refugees were either helping the locals on Jhum or shifting cultivation for a living or working as construction workers on the 87km road connecting Lawngtlai town and Zorinpui, a proposed border crossing point with Myanmar part of the ambitious Kaladan multi-modal transport project to earn their living.

While, in many media reports, it was stated that these refugees did not want to go back fearing Myanmar Army would kill them.

The clashes between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar Army have been continuing since 2017.

Meanwhile, the Assam Rifles had increased its deployment to stop influx from Myanmar, an official said.