ANSAM’s Office Picketing Paralyses Govt Work Across Naga Hill Districts Over Border Fence, FMR Scrapping

Office picketing protests are also taking place in other Naga hill districts, including Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Chandel, and Kangpokpi.

Government offices in Senapati and other Naga-inhabited hill districts of Manipur wore a deserted look on Monday as the All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) began its five-day office picketing agitation. The protest, initiated by the Senapati District Students Association (SDSA), is scheduled to continue until June 27.

The shutdown has severely disrupted the functioning of various government departments. ANSAM said it launched the protest to oppose the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and the ongoing border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border, which the body claims will divide Naga communities and violate traditional land and cultural ties.

ANSAM stated that the agitation is being carried out in line with a resolution passed during its Presidential Council Meeting held on June 16, in Senapati. The student body said that this united demonstration is an expression of the widespread resentment among the Naga people over what they term as “imposed border fencing” and the unilateral decision to do away with the FMR.

ANSAM warned that it will hold both the Central and the State government fully responsible for any untoward incidents or tensions that may arise during the course of the agitation.

Office picketing protests are also taking place in other Naga hill districts, including Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Chandel, and Kangpokpi.

It may be mentioned that, ANSAM recently submitted letters to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), seeking urgent international intervention. The student body has urged both global bodies to immediately halt the physical construction of the border fence and to reinstate the Free Movement Regime, which previously allowed people living in border areas to cross the Indo-Myanmar border freely within a 16-km radius without visa restrictions.

In its memorandum, ANSAM highlighted the historical, social, environmental, and humanitarian consequences of the scrapping of the FMR and the construction of border fencing. The student body argued that the moves threaten to further alienate and divide indigenous Naga communities who share deep ancestral, cultural, and familial ties across the artificial international boundary.

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