Citizenship to refugees not acceptable: AAPSU

From our correspondent

Itagar, Jan 5: The All Aruchal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has made it clear that the people of the frontier State will not accept citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees at any cost.

The apex students’ body attended a joint high power committee meeting on the vexed Chakma-Hajong issue at North Block New Delhi on Thursday which was chaired by Union Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary (North East) Satyendra Garg, a communiqué said here.

AAPSU president Hawa Bagang told the representatives of the ministry that citizenship to the Chakma-Hajong refugees will never be acceptable to the people of Aruchal Pradesh.

He also highlighted the atrocities meted out by the refugees against the indigenous people and doubted the Centre’s sincerity in resolving the issue. AAPSU general secretary Tobom Dai advised the Chakma-Hajong delegations, who also participated in the meeting, to grab the opportunity of citizenship outside the territory of Aruchal Pradesh without too much precondition. “Unrelenting attitude asking for citizenship within Aruchal Pradesh will boomerang and the people of the State will never accept it,” Dai said.

The meeting was also attended by Political and Home Secretary GS Mee on behalf of the State government, legal advisors of AAPSU and other central executive members of the union.

The meeting was convened as a follow-up of AAPSU’s demand in the all party meeting on June 19 last year in Itagar, seeking an early solution to the contentious refugee issue, the communiqué said.