MHA to sign accord to resolve Bru refugee issue

MHA is set to sign accords with the state governments of Tripura and Mizoram to resolve the crisis surrounding the Bru refugees. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also likely to meet all the Bru leaders before the signing the agreement.

New Delhi:The Union Home Ministry is all set to sign an accord with the government of Tripura and Mizoram to find a permanent solution with regards to Reang (Bru) refugees living in Tripura.

According to reports, with the signing of this accord, 22-years-old imbroglio is likely to be resolved. The vexed Bru problem started when the Bru people, spearheaded by an organisation, Bru National Union, demanded a separate autonomous district council by carving out areas of western Mizoram adjoining Bangladesh and Tripura in September 1997.

Thousands of Brus had been lodged in the Tripura relief camps since late 1997 in the wake of a communal tension triggered by the brutal killing of Lalzawmliana, a forest guard, inside the Dampa Tiger Reserve on October 21, 1997, by Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) militants.

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"We are hopeful that our issues will be resolved," said general secretary of Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples' Forum (MBDPF) Bruno Msha.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also likely to meet all the Bru leaders before the signing the agreement. Thousands of Bru refugees from Mizoram fled to Tripura during ethnic violence in 1997.

The Bru refugees are willing to go back to Mizoram but on the condition that there 'basic needs are fulfilled by the Mizoram government'. The Centre, in association with the governments of Mizoram and Tripura, was repatriating the displaced Brus in phases.

Though several Bru families have returned to Mizoram over the years, many refused to leave Tripura citing security reasons and inadequate package.