For Brus, it's time to settle down

BNLF, after inking peace accord with Mizoram Govt, has appealed to its splinter groups to come forward and bury their differences.

The Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), which signed a peace agreement with the Mizoram government last Tuesday to end eight years of militancy following the exodus of Brus to neighbouring Tripura in late 1997 due to ethnic tension with the Mizos, has appealed to its splinter groups to come forward and bury their differences.

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In a candid session with the media persons on Saturday, the commander-in-chief of the BNLF, Surjyamoni Reang, reiterated the fact that the 'language of bullets' should only be used to make the authorities aware of the problems, but that it would not help find a permanent solution.

The Bru militant group also expressed gratitude to the Mizo National Front government, various social and political organisations, Church authorities and the Mizo people in general, for their help in putting an end to the eight-year-old Bru-Mizo tangle.

"Church leaders, with whom we are in close touch, played a great role in the entire peace process and convinced the people of Mizoram about the real problem," the BNLF chief pointed out.

Meanwhile, 35,000 Bru refugees who have been languishing in six relief camps at Kanchanpur sub-division in Tripura's North district, will be rehabilitated under a special development package after the BNLF cadres lay down arms and ammunition.

"We will surrender our arms within the next two months and after that, the process of repatriation will start," Surjyamoni mentioned.

The BNLF has demanded that the basis of identification of the original Bru inhabitants of Mizoram should be done after verifying 1991 Census, other relevant documents and personal verification.

The Mizoram government has already set up 22 rehabilitation centres in Mamith, Kolasib and Lunglei for the refugees. Regarding the inclusion of the eligible Bru voters in the state's electoral rolls, measures would also be taken after they are settled in Mizoram.

Brus, which consist of around 12 per cent of the total population in Mizoram, is also the second largest tribe in Tripura after the Tripuris.

The Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee chief Lalthanhawla recently said that the MNF ministry should also provide benefits to the Mizos, who were forcibly driven out by the Brus from the Shakan areas of Tripura.

When asked about the same, the BNLF chief said, "No specific discussion was held on the topic, but we will solve the issue mutually."

Sources in the Mizoram home department said more than Rs 2.30 crore had been set aside for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the BNLF returnees and their families, who would be accommodated at a special camp at Tuipuibari.

Meanwhile, the Mizoram government has already received Rs 28. 60 crore as part of the total Central dole of Rs 77.17 crore earmarked for the entire rehabilitation and resettlement process.

For the BNLF cadres, it is now time to settle down and help the community in Mizoram grow in social, political and economic fields, as the outfit's publicity secretary, Chandramoni Molshoy, said, "We in BNLF may join some political parties in the coming days to raise our voice democratically and work for overall development of Mizoram."

Brus fled Mizoram in 1997 following ethnic flare-ups in the Mamith sub-division, a Bru-inhabited area in the state's northwestern part. The genesis of the Bru movement began in the last week of October, 1996, when the Bru National Union (BNU) held a conference at Tuipuibari, where, for the first time, the demands for autonomy and recognition were discussed.