Quadripartite pact to end Bru repatriation impasse — Mizoram CM

Aizawl, Jan. 13 (PTI): Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Monday said that a quadripartite agreement among the Centre, his government, Tripura and an apex body of the internally displaced Brus would be signed on January 16 to end the two-decade-old imbroglio over Bru repatriation.

Addressing a function here, after inaugurating an office of the Mizo National Front (MNF), he said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had informed his government that the agreement, one inked by the stakeholders, would allow the internally displaced Brus to settle in Tripura permanently.

Zoramthanga also said that he would be leaving for Delhi on January 15.

The Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) — an apex body of the refugees — however, said that it was yet to receive any intimation from the Union government.

Between November 2009 and November 2019, the Centre made at least nine attempts to repatriate Brus, who had been living in relief camps of Tripura, having fled Mizoram in 1997 due to ethnic clashes.

Many of them have, however, refused to return to their home state, citing security concerns and inadequate compensation package. Some have sought resettlement in their area of choice in Mizoram.

The central government had last year asserted that its ninth attempt to repatriate the Brus would be the last one, following which it would no longer offer any rehabilitation package.

Of the 4,477 families identified as bona fide residents for repatriation during the last round, only 289 families had returned during the last round of the exercise.

The Bru community, also called Reangs, is among the 21 scheduled tribes in the country. They are scattered across Assam, Mizoram and Tripura.