SOURCE- TOI AGARTALA: After the exodus of about 900 Bru tribals from Mizoram to neighbouring Tripura in the last three days, the Mizoram administration
has agreed to provide security to Bru families in the western part of
Mizoram to prevent more Brus from leaving Tripura. This decision was
taken at an officer-level meeting at Kanchanpur in North Tripura on
Wednesday.
North Tripura district magistrate and collector Prashant Kumar Goel said, "About 247 Bru families comprising 900 people from three villages of western Mizoram have fled to Tripura in the past three days." Following this, the district administration held urgent meetings with their Mizoram counterpart for safe repatriation of the families and action to prevent fresh exodus.
Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) president A Sawibunga alleged that a group of Mizo youths perpetrated violent against Brus living in Damdiai, Tumpanglui and New Eden villages on Monday, accusing the latter of maintaining clandestine relation with banned militant outfits.
"They beat up the Brus and set at least 13 house on fire, forcing the Bru families to flee the place and take shelter in camps in Tripura," he alleged.
As many as 37,000 Bru tribes have been living in six camps at Kanchanpur in North Tripura for the past 17 years following ethnic clashes between the Mizo and the Brus. After the intervention of the Union home ministry, the Mizoram government took back about 5,000 refugees. The rest are still living in the camps.
Sawibunga further alleged that Mizo youths have been pressurizing the Brus to ensure the release of three persons, including a Kolkata-based telecommunications engineer and two local Mizo drivers, who had been kidnapped by armed insurgents in the area on November 23 last. The drivers, both Mizos, were released on Wednesday but there is no information about the telecom engineer, who is a non-Mizo.
"Before the assembly election last year, Mizoram chief minister Lalthanhawala visited Bru camps in Tripura and made a commitment to ensure safety and security of the Brus in Mizoram. He also promised early repatriation of the refugees, but nothing has progressed. Rather, renewed torture has started on the minority tribes," Sawibunga said.
He added that since the abduction of the three persons last year, about 1,000 Bru families have become victims of torture and violence. Many of them have also fled to nearby villages in Cachar and Karimganj districts of south Assam over the past two months.
He also demanded adequate security for Bru families and shifting of Bru refugees to their homeland immediately, free rations for two years and Rs 1.5 lakh financial assistance to each family to construct houses and restart cultivation besides allotment of land.
North Tripura district magistrate and collector Prashant Kumar Goel said, "About 247 Bru families comprising 900 people from three villages of western Mizoram have fled to Tripura in the past three days." Following this, the district administration held urgent meetings with their Mizoram counterpart for safe repatriation of the families and action to prevent fresh exodus.
Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) president A Sawibunga alleged that a group of Mizo youths perpetrated violent against Brus living in Damdiai, Tumpanglui and New Eden villages on Monday, accusing the latter of maintaining clandestine relation with banned militant outfits.
"They beat up the Brus and set at least 13 house on fire, forcing the Bru families to flee the place and take shelter in camps in Tripura," he alleged.
As many as 37,000 Bru tribes have been living in six camps at Kanchanpur in North Tripura for the past 17 years following ethnic clashes between the Mizo and the Brus. After the intervention of the Union home ministry, the Mizoram government took back about 5,000 refugees. The rest are still living in the camps.
Sawibunga further alleged that Mizo youths have been pressurizing the Brus to ensure the release of three persons, including a Kolkata-based telecommunications engineer and two local Mizo drivers, who had been kidnapped by armed insurgents in the area on November 23 last. The drivers, both Mizos, were released on Wednesday but there is no information about the telecom engineer, who is a non-Mizo.
"Before the assembly election last year, Mizoram chief minister Lalthanhawala visited Bru camps in Tripura and made a commitment to ensure safety and security of the Brus in Mizoram. He also promised early repatriation of the refugees, but nothing has progressed. Rather, renewed torture has started on the minority tribes," Sawibunga said.
He added that since the abduction of the three persons last year, about 1,000 Bru families have become victims of torture and violence. Many of them have also fled to nearby villages in Cachar and Karimganj districts of south Assam over the past two months.
He also demanded adequate security for Bru families and shifting of Bru refugees to their homeland immediately, free rations for two years and Rs 1.5 lakh financial assistance to each family to construct houses and restart cultivation besides allotment of land.
