Repatriation of Brus to begin tomorrow

NEW DELHI, May 19 – The long-pending repatriation of Bru refugees is all set to get under way from Friday. The first phase of the exercise is scheduled to be completed in less than a week by May 26.

But there is a catch, the entire exercise hinges on the support of Mizoram, which has been asked to extend government services and transport facilities.

The Brus have been displaced from Mizoram in November 2009. In the first phase, a total of 210 Bru families have been identified for repatriation from Tripura to Mizoram. The repatriation that was earlier scheduled to start from May 11 was aborted, as the Mizoram Government failed toprovide transportation facilities.

Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), said that the repatriation is taking place after written assurances were given by the Ministry of Home Affairs about rehabilitation and security of the returnee Brus. The Bru Coordination Committee submitted its demands for rehabilitation of the newly arrived Brus through the ACHR.

Earlier, Ministry of Home Affairs sanctioned grants-in-aid of Rs 2.43 crore to Mizoram for meeting expenditure on repatriation and rehabilitation of Bru families, who had fled to Tripura in November, 2009.

“The first phase of repatriation should build necessary confidence to start the stalled dialogue for resolving the disputes surrounding the Brus who fled in 1997. The Asian Centre for Human Rights encourages both Mizoram and the Bru Coordination Committee to avail the opportunity arising out of this first phase of repatriation process to find a permanent solution to the Bru crisis,” said director of Asian Centre for Human Rights, Suhas Chakma.