Mizo Students React To Governor's Remarks

Aizawl, Jul 8 : Reacting to the Mizoram Governor’s recent statement on the issue of displaced Mizo families in Tripura’s Sakhan Hills, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl or Mizo students’ association today made it clear that the issue had been raised earlier but the government did not pay heed to it.

According to MZP, the issue of Sakhan displaced Mizos had been raised when delegates of North Eastern Students’ Organisation met the then union home minister L K Advani in July 2001 at Delhi.

'' MZP representatives, who were part of the NESO delegation, took away 20 of the 30 minutes of the meeting to raise the issue of Sakhan displaced Mizos and the Brus. The Union home minister also gave his assurance to look into the matter,'' an MZP communiqué said today.

Governor M M Lakhera, during an interaction with the local media persons on Tuesday, wondered why the issue of Sakhan displaced Mizos was 'suddenly raised' and linked it with the ongoing Bru repatriation.

He even expressed his disappointment over the calling off of the fourth phase of repatriation of Bru refugees from Tripura by the Mizoram government to demand the central government to give adequate rehabilitation to the displaced Mizos.

The MZP said in the press handout that later in 2003, the MZP representatives visited the Mizo families who had been driven out from their homes in Sakhan Hills by Bru militants in 1998, at Behliangchhip community hall in Tripura. After this meeting, the displaced Mizo families formed Sakhan Displaced Mizo Welfare and submitted a memorandum to the union home minister on May 3, 2005. In pursuance of this, the MZP also faxed a separate memorandum to the Union home minister, a copy of which was submitted to the Mizoram government, and raised the issue with the central leaders for two-three times.