Mizoram CM offers food, shelter to Myanmar refugees

AIZAWL: Days after writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting asylum for the fleeing Myanmar nationals, chief minister Zoramthanga yesterday said that providing food and shelter to the Myanmarese who fled their country to take refuge in the state on humanitarian grounds was the duty of his government.

However, the chief minister stated that the state government has "no say" in international affairs and that the state government cannot deal with refugees on its own. The matter must be handled by the central level.

"It is our duty as human beings to provide food and shelter to our human fellows (Myanmar nationals) who have taken refuge in our state in the midst of political instability following their country's military coup," he said.

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CM Zoramthanga had sent a delegation to Delhi urging the centre to provide political asylum to the Myanmar citizens.

Earlier on Sunday, CM Zoramthanga met virtually with Myanmar foreign minister in exile Zin Mar Aung to discuss the current political situation and the hardships faced by the Zo ethnic people after the military junta took control of the democratically elected Myanmar government.

Mizoram and Myanmar's Chin state share a 510-kilometer unfenced and porous boundary. Officials say that nearly 600 Myanmarese have joined Mizoram since the February military coup. They said that the majority of the refugees were from the Chin ethnic groups.

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