Aizawl, January 20, 2006: Reports reaching here said smuggled letters of Hmars in their own dialect to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in the UNLF-HPC (D) war which has displaced hundreds of Manipur Hmars have reached Shillong and on their way to Delhi.
In a desperate bid to end the faction fighting which has made civilians the target, Hmar people of Tipaimukh sub-division have sent letters to the two Congress leaders which were smuggled out under the noses of the insurgents, the report said.
According to Lalrosiem, president of the Hmar People’s Convention party who is currently in Aizawl, the Hmar insurgent outfit HPC (D) has surrounded Parbung village where 20 United National Liberation Front cadres are holed up. However, since there are still civilians inside the village, the Hmar insurgents cannot launch an attack.
“20 UNLF cadres have been surrounded inside Parbung village. But they have civilians as hostages and using them as a shield making it difficult for the Hmar insurgents surrounding the village to attack them,” Lalrosiem said.
He said the UNLF has about 80 members of which ten are holed up in Tualbung village. The UNLF had their headquarters in Thingpan village last year, staying there with their families. However, after the army intensified their operations, they have all fled this village.
He also said some UNLF members are also present at Maulian village and the inhabitants had been asked to vacate their village by the UNLF. Lalrosiem said they are on their way to Mizoram today.
Lalrosiem said Revd. Lalthawmlien, the district superintendent of the Evangelical Free Church of India is still incapacitated from beatings he received at the hands of the UNLF at Lungthulien village on the night of January 16.
Asked the number of refugees that had fled to Mizoram, Lalrosiem said it was very difficult to ascertain the exact figure as some people had failed to report themselves to the authorities. He said the number was around 800 with more people adding to this number day after day.
He also warned of a communal clash with the Manipuris who are called Meiteis by the Mizos if Meitei rebels continue to harass Hmar civilians inside Manipur.
Lalrosiem, when asked about the letters to Gandhi and Singh, said he had no knowledge about them, but admitted that they could have been sent to Shillong as a branch of the Hmar Students Association is there.
Aizawl district deputy commissioner C. Tawnluaia said according to government records, there are 650 refugees. He, however, said it was not clear how the state government would look after the refugees at present because a clear picture of the situation is yet to emerge.
He said three officials who have been sent to the area to verify matters are expected back today. Only after they have given their reports would the government make plans on how to look after the refugees.
Police CID sources said apart from the refugees coming into the state, some have gone to Shillong too.
Source: Newslink