GUWAHATI: Bru organisations in Tripura have demanded stringent action against the Nagarik Suraksha Manch (Kanchanpur) and Mizo Convention (Jampui Hill) for allegedly “escalating tension and creating communal enmity” among Bru, Mizo and various tribal and non-tribal communities in Tripura.
In a letter to the North Tripura superintendent of police, the Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Forum, Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Coordination Committee and Bru Displaced Welfare Organisations demanded that the Manch and Mizo Convention (MC) be banned to pave way for peaceful resettlement of the Bru internally displaced persons (IDPs) in accordance with the Quadrilateral Agreement inked in January this year.
The Bru organisations further countered accusations made (in the letter to the SP last month) by the convener and chairman of the Joint Movement Committee against the Bru IDPs that the latter were “spreading lies and rumours within and outside the community and hurting the gravity of communal harmony” as “baseless and unfounded”.
“We request you to immediately arrest the convener of JMC (representing the Manch) and chairman of JMC (representing the MC) and take stringent legal action against them,” the groups wrote in the letter to the SP.
The Bru groups opposed the “interference” of the Manch and the Mizo Convention on the issue of site selection and resettlement of Bru IDPs, saying that it was completely unjustified as the two organisations were not part of the Quadrilateral Agreement.
The groups further requested the Tripura government to rehabilitate the Bru IDPs in locations such as Bethlingchhip, Manu Chailengta, Pachhim Hmunpui, etc, which are inhabited by the community, rather than five locations proposed by the JMC as they are remote areas with poor communication and away from public health centres, schools, etc.
“The proposal for inclusion of four persons from the JMC in the monitoring team is not acceptable as they had no connection with either repatriation of the Bru IDPs to Mizoram or their resettlement in Tripura. Rather, various Bru NGOs and Tripura-based organisations can be involved in the resettlement process as they have been supporting the accord for a peaceful settlement,” the groups stated in the letter to the SP.