Aizwal, April 26: The Mizoram government and the underground Bru National Liberation Front today signed a peace accord to end eight years of militancy following the exodus in late 1997 of Brus to neighbouring Tripura due to ethnic tension with the Mizos.

The MoU will facilitate the repatriation of thousands of Bru refugees now staying in six relief camps in neighbouring North Tripura district.

The MoU was signed on behalf of the state government by chief secretary H V Lalringa and home secretary C E Ropianga, while BNLF was represented by its president Surjyamoni Reang and general secretary Soloman Probhul Ushoy.

As per the provisions of the MoU, the BNLF militants will lay down arms and come overground to lead normal lives.

The state government, apart from extending financial aid for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the militants and the refugees, will give a special development package for the Bru inhabited areas.

According to the MoU, formal laying down of arms would be held at the Mizoram-Tripura border village of Tuipuibari where the militants would be accommodated at a rehabilitation camp set up in the village for a period not exceeding three months.The MOU also stipulated that the state government would grant amnesty to all the BNLF cadres having criminal cases in the state and also request other neighbouring states to do likewise.

The state government would take steps to change �Reang� (the name of the community) to �Bru� in the scheduled tribe list.

Rehabilitation and resettlement of the BNLF rebels and refugees would be implemented after the BNLF militants laid down arms and the special development programme would be taken up in the western belt of the state covering Bru settlement.

While the talks between the state government and the BNLF began on September 1999, the officials here said that the formal negotiations officially began on September seven 2001.The MOU was finally signed during the thirteenth round of parleys held from yesterday.

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