GUWAHATI: Bru NGOs have urged the Centre and Tripura government to secure the lives of the Brus living in and around Jampui Hills of North Tripura.
Strongly reacting against Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga’s recent letter to Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb requesting cancellation of the proposed re-settlement of displaced Brus in Jampui Hills. Three leading organisations also appealed to Tripura government “not to allow Mizoram to interfere in its internal affairs”.
Representatives of the Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Forum, Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Coordination Committee and Bru Displaced Welfare Organisation also termed the Mizoram chief minister’s move as “a deliberate design to cleanse the Bru community from Mizoram.”
“Such provocation made by the heads of the state (Mizoram) in 1997 and 2009 had resulted in communal unrest and all types of heinous crimes committed on the Bru community followed by forceful eviction from Mizoram,” a statement by the NGOs, said.
“The Mizoram chief minister had refused to take back the Brus and restore them in Mizoram, violating the quadrilateral agreement signed on July 3, 2018. Therefore, the Tripura chief minister, on humanitarian grounds, agreed to rehabilitate the Brus in the state and thereby resolve the 23-year-old problem of Mizoram and the central government,” it said.
“The Union home ministry along with several stakeholders signed a treaty to resettle Brus in Tripura. So, Zoramthanga, or any NGO of Mizoram, does not have the moral and legal authority to dictate the Tripura government on the issue of Bu resettlement or any other internal matter of Tripura.
The NGOs apprehended that with the Mizo Convention demanding a regional council exclusively for the Mizo community residing in Jampui range, backed by Mizoram, the area could be annexed to Mizoram if their demand is not met.
“That is the reason why the Mizo Convention is protesting against the resettlement of Brus in Jampui Hill. The situation in Jampui Hills is escalating day by day and now the lives of Brus residing in and around the range are at stake. Therefore the Centre and the Tripura government should focus on the present situation in Jampui Hill and take strong initiative to secure the lives and property of Brus living there,” the statement by the NGOs, added.