Mizos Supporting B’desh refugees after pastor’s demise

Aizawl: Around 5 pm on Sunday, the hills of Aizawl rang with an important announcement. As is customary when an important announcement was to be made by the Young Mizos Association, microphones in all areas of Aizawl were switched on for every citizen to hear.
While these announcements are usually related to news of the death of a community member or the opening of ration shops, this time it was a new affair.

“Tomorrow at 12 noon, the Central Young Mizo Association has organized a community demonstration at the Raj Bhavan to show our solidarity with our brothers who fled Bangladesh. Let us all come together to demonstrate this. We share their suffering. Our brothers who have fled their homes are being pushed back which has resulted in deaths. We appeal to all Mizo men and women as well as the youth to come together. Be done,” said the announcer.
As a result of an armed conflict between Bangladesh’s counter-terrorism unit, the Rapid Action Battalion, and ethnic insurgents, the Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), Kuki-Chin refugees from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. have started fleeing their village in search of safety. The Kuki Chin community in Bangladesh in the border villages of Mizoram shares ethnic ties with the Mizos.

The demonstration was called to protest the death of a senior priest, Sawmkhup, due to starvation in the jungle after he was allegedly denied entry and ‘pushed back’ by border security forces.
At 12 o’clock on Monday night, people from all over the city started gathering in front of the Raj Bhavan. Behind a pick-up truck used as a stage, heads of top NGOs in Mizoram, the Central Young Mizo Association and two student organizations, the Mizo Students’ Union and the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, sat in a row and one by one Made his speeches.

President of the Central Young Mizo Association R. Lalngheta in his speech said that the central government has to change its approach. “Our brother who has died can no longer walk. He fought hard to escape and seek refuge in our state, but he was pushed back. The people of Mizo are against him,” he said.

Amit Shah had promised us a BSF battalion consisting of Mizos. We want him to keep his promise and provide us with a security force at the border that will take care of the Mizo people,” he said.
The next speech delivered by MZP President Lalnunmawia Pautu focused on the Border Security Forces, where he challenged the youth of Mizo saying, “If the BSF continues to push our brothers back, we will You have to be ready to face it.”

The final speech was delivered by MSU President Samuel Zothanpuia. “We dare not call them refugees because they are our brothers and sisters who have returned to their true home,” he said. The only things our brothers and sisters can give us are their hearts and the clothes they wear but BSF has shown their inhuman service.
He made an appeal saying, “Here we are Mizos living peacefully under the Indian Union. If you want, treat us like Indians, treat us like other states. We are Mizos living peacefully here in Mizoram. Due to British colonialism, we Chin-Kuki people were divided into three countries. Help us unite your people, your tribe and our nation. We are not cowards. We will fight till the end.

Demonstrations were also held in the district headquarters.
In 2018, a similar gathering was called by the Joint NGO Coordination Committee at the Raj Bhavan, where thousands of youth gathered in protest. However, Monday’s gathering was relatively small compared to previous protests, despite frequent announcements in local areas. The majority of those gathered were either political representatives or members of specific committees in their respective YMA branches.

Lalngaihawma, 26, from the Tlangnuam area, told that, “There are fewer youth in the congregation. The only way we show our concern is by talking about the issue. We are responsible for our actions. fail to express their concern through
59-year-old J Dengdailova from Hunthar region also shared the opinion of the young man. “Despite announcements being made in all areas, there are very few people. We have to leave our work and come forward for such important issues,” he said.

Despite the Kuki-Chin refugees fleeing to Mizoram since November, both Lalngaihawma and J Dengdailova learned about the plight of the refugees fleeing Bangladesh only after Sawmkhup’s death.
Opposition MLA, Lalduhoma told East Mojo that he believes such incidents could have been avoided if action had been taken at the right time. “The state government is a part and parcel of the central government. They belong to the NDA, so if they had taken immediate action at that time, at the very beginning, it would not have happened. Because the action was not taken at the right time. “There was, so people had to come together,” he said.
He also suggested that the BJP, by pushing back these refugees, was working against their core philosophy of ‘philanthropy’.
“We have been standing under the sun for a few hours over the life and death issue that is happening on the India-Bangladesh border. We know that these refugees have been pushed back by the BSF and people are dying of hunger. I understand that India is trying to become a part of the Security Council in the United Nations. It is disgusting for such a country to act in this manner. I hope that the Government of India does not engage in diplomacy at the cost of people’s lives. “I hope they will treat the refugees with respect and give them whatever they need – financial or economic,” Lalduhoma said.
An opposition Congress MLA also shared Lalduhoma’s view, saying, “The central government should take action on humanitarian grounds. The world should pay attention to those who are fleeing for their lives. The government should tell us. That they should not stop them but let them in.
PAMRA (Peace Accord MNF Returnees Association) showed strong support for the refugees. Their member, R. Lalhmingliani, widow of Lalthanmawia who had been part of the MNF Army, said, “While our men were struggling to survive in the forest, the people of Baum were kind to us and gave us their food. Today their pain is our pain. They are our true brothers and sisters.”
Apart from the protest call, the Central YMA also took action by writing a letter to the Union Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday. In it, he stated that around 500 ethnic Mizo clans entered Mizoram, “due to the recent military operation by the Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) against the Koki-Chin National Army”.
He further wrote on Sawmkhup’s death, “Therefore, in view of the above tragic incident/incident and inhumane act in which a precious human life was lost due to the callous behavior of the forces, we sincerely request that humanitarian basis in this matter and to take immediate steps to prevent the pushing back of our brothers who have temporarily taken refuge in our state for their immediate safety and security of their lives and for those displaced. Food, shelter and other transitional essential facilities can be provided.Mizo ethnic brothers in Indian Territory on humanitarian basis.