Four Bru families from Tripura camps arrive in Mizoram

  • | Tuesday | 28th August, 2018

The special secretary (internal security) had said the six relief camps will be closed on October 1 and all the aids to the inmates of the relief camps would be stopped. AIZAWL: Two Bru families arrived in Mizoram from the six relief camps in Tripura on the second day of the repatriation exercise on Monday. The Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) leaders had expressed doubts about Bru families returning to Mizoram during the repatriation process as many people were against the agreement inked between the Centre, the state governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the MDPF in Delhi on July 3. However, Bru leaders opined that even these people might later refuse to return to Mizoram. This time around, the ministry of home affairs was firm on the proposed repatriation process, especially after the July 3 agreement.

AIZAWL: Two Bru families arrived in Mizoram from the six relief camps in Tripura on the second day of the repatriation exercise on Monday. With this, only four families have returned during the final repatriation exercise which commenced from Saturday and is scheduled to be competed by September 25.One Bru family reached Mizoram on Friday on its own and another family reached on Sunday. Two Bru families, to be resettled in Kolasib district's Meidum and Rasdali hamlets, returned on Monday.Earlier, a number of refugees had objected to the proposed final repatriation and had made a plethora of demands as conditions for their return to Mizoram. The Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) leaders had expressed doubts about Bru families returning to Mizoram during the repatriation process as many people were against the agreement inked between the Centre, the state governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the MDPF in Delhi on July 3. The MBDPF has been the apex body of the relief camp inmates for years.There were a large number of people who rejected the July 3 agreement, and the MBDPF president A Sawibunga was forced to withdraw his signature on July 16 by a mob which stormed the apex Bru community office at Naisingpara.The mood in the relief camps was already clear with the formation of Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Coordination Committee (MBDPCC) by people unhappy with the MBDPF's participation in the agreement.In the last identification process conducted in November 2016, officials identified 32,876 Brus belonging to 5,407 families as bona fide residents of Mizoram.During an exercise to identify who wanted to return to Mizoram recently, only 2,753 people belonging to 423 families, majority of whom were from Kasakau relief camp, expressed willingness to be repatriated. However, Bru leaders opined that even these people might later refuse to return to Mizoram."We will go ahead with the repatriation schedule all the way as we are yet to receive any official information on Bru people refusing to return to Mizoram," a senior home department official said.In accordance with the agreement, all the Bru refugees were to be repatriated before September 30. The agreement stipulated that Rs 4 lakh for each repatriated Bru family would be deposited in the bank account of the head of the family which would mature after three years and payment of Rs 1.5 lakh would be given as housing assistance. Each repatriated Bru family would be given Rs 5,000 through direct benefit transfer every month and a free ration for two years.Thousands of Brus have been lodged in the Tripura relief camps since 1997 after communal tension triggered by the brutal murder of Lalzawmliana, a forest guard inside the Dampa Tiger Reserve on October 21, 1997 by Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) militants.The first attempt to repatriate them from November 16, 2009 not only failed but triggered another wave of exodus after Bru militants gunned down a youth at Bungthuam village 3 days before the commencement of the repatriation process.Though some Bru families had already returned to Mizoram during a number of repatriation processes and on their own will, many of them continued to refuse to leave Tripura. This time around, the ministry of home affairs was firm on the proposed repatriation process, especially after the July 3 agreement. The special secretary (internal security) had said the six relief camps will be closed on October 1 and all the aids to the inmates of the relief camps would be stopped.

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