Mizoram CM requests Amit Shah to initiate dialogue between MHA & leaders of Kuki-Zo people in Manipur

Guwahati: Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to initiate dialogue between the Ministry of Home Affairs and leaders of Kuki-Zo people in Manipur’s hill areas.

Mizoram government stated in a statement that Lalduhoma met Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah at his residence on Thursday. He requested the union home minister to arrange a meeting with the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, which represents all tribal communities in Manipur.

Lalduhoma also informed Shah that he was invited by his Manipur counterpart N. Biren Singh to visit Imphal and expressed his willingness to accept the invitation.

The chief minister also expressed gratitude to the union home minister for sanctioning Rs 10 crore for displaced people.

Shah informed Lalduhoma that signing of memorandum of understanding on shifting of the Assam Rifles battalion from the heart of Aizawl city has been delayed due to delay in finalisation of MoU by the Assam Rifles authority. He said that he will send two senior officials of the MHA to Aizawl and discussion of MoU will be undertaken between the state government and the Assam Rifles in the presence of the central officials.

The union home minister informed Lalduhoma that the Central Special Team for Cyclone Remal has already submitted their reports and assistance for the same is expected soon.The total number of refugees from Myanmar taking shelter in Mizoram has risen to over 35,120. The Myanmarese took shelter in Mizoram in different phases after the military takeover in the conflict-ridden country in February 2021. Around 10,000 people including women and children belonging to Kuki-Zomi tribes, have also taken shelter in Mizoram after the ethnic violence broke out in neighbouring Manipur in May last year. Around 2,000 Bangladeshi tribals, belonging to the Bawm community, took shelter in Mizoram from November 2022. The Bangladeshi refugees from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeast Bangladesh fled from their villages and sought refuge in Mizoram after an offensive by the Bangladeshi Army against the insurgent group Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA).

The Kuki-Zomi-Chin- Bawm tribes in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur share ethnic ties, and cultural and linguistic similarities with the Mizo people.

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