AIZAWL: The ethnic Zo or Mizo people from India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar under the banner of the Zo Re-Unification Organisation (ZORO) staged mass demonstrations all over Mizoram and parts of Manipur on Wednesday.
The mass rallies were in protest against the Centre's decision to withdraw the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and erect a fence along the 1,643-km long border.
The protests spread across Mizoram's Aizawl, Champhai, Serchhip, Lunglei, Kolasib, and several villages along the Myanmar border, besides in Manipur's Tengnoupal district, as protesters demonstrated by burning copies of the government's orders restricting cross-border movement.
Leaders of ZORO vociferously opposed the Centre's move, stating that FMR has, from time immemorial, been a heritage and a cultural requirement, especially for the Zo people, who are ethnically and traditionally closely related with the Zo brethren across the border.
Speaking at the protest in Aizawl, the vice president of the ZORO Rohmingthanga Kawlni condemned the Centre's decision to replace the FMR protocol with a new protocol that insists on border passes for people to cross if one is living in the 10-km corridor.
The rules that came in place on 1 January scrapped the visa-free movement that hitherto took place within a 16km distance on each side of the border.
Kawlni also slammed the Mizoram state government for supporting the Centre's decision and taking prompt steps to impose the curbs.
ZORO general secretary L. Ramdinliana Renthlei echoed the same sentiments, saying that the decision has created strong opposition from the Mizo people and different organizations in the state. He warned that ZORO would not be responsible for any negative consequences arising from the Centre's actions if they go against the interests of the Mizo people.
Renthlei further stated that ZORO would heighten its agitations until the Centre reverses its decision regarding the FMR and border fencing.
The Aizawl protest also witnessed leaders of various political parties, who are members of the ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), coming out in unison to demonstrate the wide-scale political opposition against the Centre's decision.
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