The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday reacted to reports that said some of Myanmar’s rebel groups have merged in Mizoram in the presence of Chief Minister Lalduhoma.
“We have seen some reports on the matter. Our position on the situation in Myanmar is well known. I would also like to reiterate that foreign policy issues do not lie within the remit of State governments,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press conference.
A report by the Hindustan Times said Myanmar’s Chinland Council (CC) and the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC) signed a merger agreement in the presence of Lalduhoma in Aizawl on February 26.
The idea behind the merger was to cease hostilities among themselves and mount united resistance to Myanmar’s military regime.
Jacob V Zawma, a steering committee member of CC and coordinator of the negotiating team said that having two bodies from the Chin community was “counterproductive” and that’s why the two groups merged.
The Chief Minister’s office told the news outlet that after the merger, the two groups will be called Chin National Council (CNC).
Mizoram MLA Lalmuanpuia Punte said that the chief minister made efforts to unite the two Chin armed groups at a request from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“Security threat on Indian side of Mizoram looms if political situation in Chin state is unstable, uniting factions of the Chin armed forces has been for long in our radar, unified, I believe the Chin resistance will reach new heights in deposing the military rule,” Punte told the newspaper.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/india/foreign-policy-not-the-remit-of-state-govts-mea-on-myanmar-groups-merger-in-mizoram-13869676.html.
