Bru refugee women block another repatriation bid
Our Bureau
AGARTALA, October 7, 2019: Hundreds of protesting women inmates of Mizoram Bru refugee camps blocked another repatriation attempt on Monday. Latest repatriation process launched under a MHA sponsored rehabilitation package is unlikely to continue further in view of protests and refusal of the evacuees to return home state without fulfillment of demands.
Only 46 families of different camps returned on October 3 – the day reparation programme was officially launched. Around 35000 tribe people are housed in six camps since they took shelter in north Tripura after ethnic violence broke out in Mizoram in September 1997.
Women protestors dressed black prevented movement of vehicles sent from Mizoram to take them to designated villages marked for resettlement. They raised eight demands one of which was setting up of an autonomous district council under 6th schedule of the constitution.
The latest repatriation was planned at a MHA arranged meeting in New Delhi with participation of officials from Tripura and Mizoram as well as leaders of Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Forum (MBPDF). MBDPF was signatory of the agreement, but it backtracked from its assurance creating hurdle for the repatriation.