GUWAHATI Mizoram has asked the Assam government to ensure the safety of Mizo tribal people asked by a Manipuri organisation to vacate Barak Valley in the southern part of the State.
In a letter to Assam’s Chief Secretary Paban Kumar Borthakur on Wednesday, Mizoram’s Home Commissioner H. Lalengmawia said the All Assam Manipuri Students’ Union (AAMSU) issued a statement on July 24 advising the Mizos living in the Meitei areas of Barak Valley to vacate the area at the earliest time possible for their safety because of the escalating anger among the Meiteis of Assam.
The statement was in response to a similar diktat by the Peace Accord MNF Returnees’ Association (PAMRA), an organisation of former extremists in Mizoram, to some 2,000 Meitei people living in Mizoram to vacate in view of the outrage over the viral video that showed two Kuki tribal women being paraded naked by a mob on May 4.
“I convened a meeting with representatives of the PAMRA in the presence of the State police authorities and senior State government officials on July 22. During the meeting, the PAMRA representatives said they merely issued an adviser for the Meitei community to maintain caution in view of the prevailing public sentiments triggered by the viral video,” Mr. Lalengmawia said.
“In this regard, I request your kind intervention in ensuring the safety and security of the Mizo community in Barak Valley so that no untoward incidents occur,” the letter to the Assam Chief Secretary said.
