The Indian government in a sign of benevolence has allowed more than 1300 Buddhist refuges from Myanmar’s Rakhine region, to enter Mizoram.
Such a displacement of these refugees was supposedly spurred by the ongoing struggle between the Myanmar army and the insurgent Arakan Army, which as per media reports mainly comprises Buddhists.
As per reports, these Buddhists have taken refuge in four villages of the state. The district administration has been constructing makeshift relief camps to accommodate these refugees who seem to have arrived in the state on 25th November. Apart from these camps, they are also living in Buddhist homes and temples.
Senior police officers have declined to term their arrival as a security threat as of yet and are taking measures to ensure that there is no tension between these refugees and the local residents.
As per T. Arun, the Deputy Commissioner of Lawngtlai, they are two rules in a refugee situation related to national security and humanitarian assistance respectively. The refugees who are being taken care of on humanitarian grounds, are being provided food to prevent starvation and are being guarded against the outbreak of diseases.
Myanmar in recent years has become infamous for its internal conflicts which result in its local populace having to flee the “war zone”.
One of the most well-known example is the displacement of Rohingya Muslims, which resulted in more than 40,000 of them entering India illegally, apart from the 14,000 more Rohingyas who are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Over the years, the perception of the Rohingyas though have changed from being persecuted minorities to potential security threats after reports surface about them starting to get radicalized by the Lashkar-e-Toeba (LeT) to avenge the sectarian violence in Myanmar. And it was also found that their retribution was also for some reason aimed towards India.
The Rakhine region which is also seeing a conflict between the Rohingyas and the Myanmar authorities, has meant the Hindus there too are paying a heavy price.
We had reported how the Mayanmar Army had issued a statement about Rohingya terrorists killing 28 Hindus including women and children, after a mass grave containing their bodies was discovered in the Rakhine state. Later 17 more such bodies were found barely 200 metres from the previous spot.
