China, Pak ‘backed’ Mizo insurgency

Aizawl, December 9

Once a dreaded militant, two-time Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga has completed writing his autobiography, which, he says, will be a very controversial book with detailed accounts of Pakistan and Chinese government’s “support” to the insurgency in Mizoram.

In an interview, Mizo National Front chief Zoramthanga exuded confidence of his party forming the next government in the state and said he will release the Mizo version of the book post the election results on December 11.

The book will have detailed descriptions of his 20 years of underground days, which will include how Dhaka fell with the capture of Lt Gen AAK Niazi’s one lakh troops by Indian forces, he added.

Zoramthanga said the MNF cadres were mixed with commandos of East Pakistan and were captured by Lt Gen JS Aurora, but later all escaped and went into the jungle again.

The autobiography will talk about “how we made a daredevil escape to East Pakistan through Rangoon and through the Arakan forest, marching for days and days, how we met Bhutto and how we started peace talks with the Government of India in foreign countries”, he added.

Zoramthanga said it will also mention about how he and MNF insurgents had gone to China and “met premier Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong... and how we got help from the Chinese government in the form of arms, etc”.

When the Mizo Freedom Movement started in 1966, Zoramthanga joined the underground agitation and moved to the jungle. MNF’s secessionist movement came to an end in 1986 when it signed the Mizo Peace Accord and a separate state of Mizoram was created. When the MNF formed the government in 1987 under the leadership of Laldenga, Zoramthanga looked after Finance and Education departments. In 1990, when Laldenga died, he became the president of the MNF. — PTI