Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Bonafide Mizo Bru to be taken back: CM

Agartala: In an attempt to solve the vexed problem, the Mizoram government has reiterated that only genuine Reang refugees sheltered in North Tripura’s Kanchanpur subdivision would be taken back to their homeland- Mizoram. The announcement came when a delegation of Mizoram Bur Displaced People Forum (MBDPF) headed by its president Elvis Chorkey called on Mizoram Chief Minister Mr. Lalthanhawla in Aizwal on April 30.

In the sideline of the tripartite meet to find an amicable solution to the refugee problem, the MBDPF delegation met the Chief Minister and discussed various issues related to their problem.

In course of discussion, the Chief Minister assured that bonafide citizens of Mizoram who have been sheltering in six relief camps in Kanchanpur subdivision would be taken back to their homeland as early as possible, said Chorkey over telephone from Kanchanpur on Monday.

According to Elvis, Mr. Lalthanhowla hinted at having another round of talks between Mizoram government and MBDPF to prepare the modalities of repatriation as well as rehabilitation of the Bru refugee.

"Before this, a joint team will undertake survey to identify the genuine citizens of Mizoram to avoid any kind of controversy", he said adding that NGOs of Mizoram and MBDPF will look into the doubtful cases if found.

Chorkey further said that the Mizoram government would undertake a process to select the places where resettlement will take place. "Proper demarcation is must to avoid any kind of clash between two ethic groups after the proposed repatriation of Bru refugees", he insisted.

According to him, the MBDPF has already submitted a memorandum mentioning thirteen places where Bru refugees can be rehabilitated after safe return. "All the places fall under Mizoram’s two districts- Mamit and Kolashib", he added.

It may be noted that over 30,000 Bru people had to desert their homeland following ethnic clashes in October, 1997 and since then they have been sheltering in six relief camps of Kanchanpur subdivision.

Of late, Tripura government has been requesting the Centre to expedite the repatriation of refugees at the earliest.

Source: THE SHILLONG TIMES

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