Friday, March 5, 2010

Tripura blames Mizoram for not taking back refugees

Agartala, Mar 5: Tripura Government today accused the Mizoram Government of violating the union home ministry's directive on taking back the Bru/Reang refugees, sheltered in North Tripura district for the last 13 years.

"The Mizoram Government has been violating the union home ministry's direction over the repatriation of Reang refugees," Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury told the state assembly.

He said when the Centre and Tripura government were taking initiatives to send them back, the Mizoram government was "not responding properly".

Chowdhury said a series of tripartite meetings had been held in Delhi, Aizawl and Agartala and the Mizoram Government had agreed to take them back but finally did not meet their promise.

More than 37000 refugees have been sheltered in six evacuee camps at Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura district. They migrated to Tripura in 1997 following ethnic clashes with the Mizos in western Mizoram.