On October 23, 2006, 809 Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM) militants surrendered at Naisingpara relief camp in Kanchanpur sub-division in the North Tripuradistrict. Three days later, amidst great fanfare, state home minister Tawnluia, statehome secretary C. Ropianga, Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel, Director General of Police (DGP) Lalngheta Sailo and Assam Rifles (AR) officials formally received the BLFM cadres at Tuipuibari in Mizoram’s Mamitdistrict. The surrendered rebels deposited 70 firearms, including AK series rifles, grenades, a mortar and explosives. Homeminister Tawnluia declared that the state government would provide Rs 40,000 to each of the surrendered BLFM militants besides free rations for one year in transit camps at Damparengpui and Tuipuibari villages of Mizoram. He further declared, "Mizoram is one of the peacefulstates of the country and our government must protect the image at any cost".
The event was hailed as an epoch making event for the state. Following the equally dramatic accord with the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) of April 26, 2005, the main provisions of which, till date, have remained unimplemented, the treaty with the BLFM was described as a major achievement in various circles, till the senor-most police official of neighbouring Tripura, thestate that had hosted the Bru refugees since the October 1997 upheaval that had forced them out of Mizoram, made a sensational revelation. Director General of Police G.M. Srivastava, on November 4, disclosed that the surrender of the BLFM was a 'stage managed' affair. He said that some Mizoram officials in league with a section of Assam Rifles officials had enacted the drama by picking up some Bru youth from the relief camps. "The Assam Rifles is doing a commendable job in Tripura, but the Assam Rifles battalion in Kanchanpur is responsible for the surrender drama," he said. AR’s 18th Battalion is based in Kanchanpur.
Srivastava was only reiterating the obvious. Seven months earlier, on March 29, 2006, Mizoramhome minister, Tawnluia, had made similar allegations against the AR battalion posted in North Tripura. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, he asserted that the AR battalion was helping BLFM militants. The BLFM is known to be no more than a breakaway faction of the dominant Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mizoramgovernment on April 26, 2006, when some 150 of its cadres laid down arms. The BLFM is not known to possess more than a handful cadres. An unidentified Mizoram intelligence official in November 2005 estimated the total cadre strength of the BLFM to be in the range of 100, and only a fraction of the foot soldiers were known to possess arms. Interestingly, the BLFM’s entire top leadership, ‘president’ Vanlalliana, ‘vice-president’ Vanrama, ‘army chief’ Romawia Meska and ‘lieutenant’ Lallawma, had been arrested in April 2006.
Although some reports indicated a measure of increasing sophistication in BLFM ranks, it remains rather incredible that the outfit could increase its cadre strength eight fold. BLFM’s activities give no suggestion of such an augmentation of force. The outfit, which wanted to negotiate a separate peace deal with the Mizoramgovernment after the BNLF agreement, had engaged in a single incident of abduction in 2005 and three incidents, including an abduction, an attack on a Mizoram Armed Police (MAP) camp and an encounter with the Mizoram Police in 2006. Interestingly, till the first half of 2006, the Mizoramgovernment was adamant about not entering into any negotiation with the BLFM, which it considered only of"minor nuisance value".
In May 2006, an indication of the impending surrender by the BLFM had been provided by a ‘circular’ distributed by the outfit among the refugee youths. It said that two former BLFM cadres, A. Toisarai and Lalrinkima Molsoi, were in charge of ‘recruiting’ members solely for the purpose of making them surrender before thegovernment to get the benefits of rehabilitation package. The circular demanded a ‘contribution’ ofRs 3,000 each for such ‘recruitment’, in addition to an ‘entry fee’ ofRs 200. The recruits had been promised Rs 90,000 as the rehabilitation package that would be provided by the Mizoramgovernment.
A further indication of the fraud that has been orchestrated was provided by a Mizoram Police official. On October 26, Mizoram Superintendent of Police (Crime Investigation Department) Lal Dhina disclosed, "Initially there was a list of 757 BLFM militants, who were willing to shun the path of violence, but finally the number rose to 802."state Home Secretary C. Ropianga, on November 1, stated at Aizawl, "We earlier thought the BNLF to be a 100-member group, but it turned out to be an 800-plus outfit."
It is not clear whether the recent ‘drama’ by the Mizoram government is intended at pushing forward the unimplemented April 2005 deal with the BNLF that was supposed to have paved the way for the repatriation of the 40,000 Bru refugees from the six relief camps in North Tripura. On April 5, 2006, the Mizoramgovernment had informed the Union government that it would initiate repatriation of Bru refugees only after the BLFM lays down arms and eschews violence. Thestate government, it appears, had managed to convince New Delhi about the actually missing-link between the repatriation issue and supposed threat arising out of BLFM activities, a gross exaggeration of the capability of the BLFM.
There are indications, however, that the move to repatriate the Brus has already provoked some opposition in Mizoram. On November 15, 2006, the influential Young Mizo Association (YMA) and Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), passed a resolution in Aizawl that said that, unless the credentials of the members of the BLFM were verified, both the organisations would not accept these people as bona fide citizens of Mizoram. It is highly unlikely that thestate government will be able to go ahead with its proposed deal with the BLFM, until it finds a way to placate organisations like the YMA and MZP.
The union ministry of home affairs (MHA) reaction to the apparent fraud in Mizoram has, typically, been silence. Each ‘surrender’ is an achievement for New Delhi, and it matters little whether or not such events contribute in any manner to the resolution of conflicts in the region.