ES Reporter
ITANAGAR, Jun 22: Turning the tables on the Chakma refugees, All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has warned to register FIR against those individuals whoever dares to encroach beyond the designated settlement area.
“The union is visiting its own land and no illegal Chakma settlers have the right to question us,” said President AAPSU Hawa Bagang while reacting to the report of few Chakma refugees filing FIR against AAPSU leaders.
Speaking to the media, Bagang said "In 1964 on humanitarian ground, we have accepted them as refugees and designated some area for settlement but now they are encroaching our lands and act like they are the owner of the land, to which AAPSU will not tolerate."
They have to return to their designated area, and AAPSU will lodge FIR against a particular person who encroaches on indigenous land,said President AAPSU while informing that state government has the right to swap their settlement area , provided all basic facilities should be conferred to them. However, AAPSU won’t bow down or tolerate any act of illegal encroachment of indigenous land, Bagang said.
Soon, we will have a talk with the state government on legal remedies related to such repeated illegal encroachment by Chakma people in the indigenous land, he said.
“We visited Khatan and even interacted with the illegal Chakma settlers in an amiable manner but the very next day same people filed complaint against us. That’s the victim card being played by the illegal Chakma settlers, as usual," said General Secretary AAPSU, Tobom Dai.
He further added that Chakma settlers have entered several kilometres inside indigenous lands. Moreover, they are also interrupting development activities being processed under MLALAD funds and intimidating locals with guns, Dai said.
"They have to be in their designated area, but now they have started encroaching traditional community lands and Forest reserve areas due to population explosion and illegal migrants," the GS said while informing that there is no record with the state government about illegal Chakma migrants.