GUWAHATI: A Myanmar-based committee of refugees expressed concern over the deportation of Myanmarese refugees from Manipur and urged the state government to give them a choice on whether they would like to return or stay back in Manipur till the situation in Myanmar improves.The Burma Refugees Committee in Kabaw Valley welcomed the decision by the Manipur government to release 77 refugees. However, they expressed dismay at the prospect of the refugees being handed over to the country’s military. It said that the ‘conscription law’ (People’s Military Service Law) imposed by Myanmar on February 10, triggered large-scale apprehension among people in the country.“We are extremely worried that handing the Myanmar nationals to the Junta would prompt the military regime to use them as human shields on the battlefields,” the organisation said.For the past two years, the Junta has been engaged in fierce gunfights with the pro-democracy forces. In the face of the violence, thousands of people fled to Mizoram and Manipur.The committee of the refugees requested the Manipur government to reconsider the deportation plan on socio-political and humanitarian grounds.“We would be grateful if the Myanmar nationals could be given a choice on whether they would like to return to Myanmar or stay back in Manipur temporarily till the circumstances are conductive for safe return,” the organisation said.Further, it requested the Manipur government to allow the refugees to stay in the border areas, in case they are released, till they can safely return to their homes.The 77 refugees, including 51 women and five children, were taken into custody for illegally entering India and lodged at a detention centre in Imphal. Eight were deported recently.According to official figures, 6,746 Myanmar nationals were detected in the state between May 3 last year and February 27 this year. Of them, 259 were sent back after recording their biometrics data.
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