Guwahati, April 27: The apex organisation of the Dimasa tribe today urged the Assam government to flush out Hmar militants from Cachar and North Cachar Hills, saying they were responsible for the spate of ethnic clashes in the twin districts.

The Jadikhe Naisho Hoshom (JNH) said militants of the Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) had infiltrated the strife-torn districts from adjacent Manipur and Mizoram to instigate the Hmar community to fight with the Dimasas.

Waimijing, another Dimasa organisation, made a similar statement in a memorandum to chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

The JNH asked the state government to initiate a judicial inquiry by a retired Supreme Court judge into the recent clashes, which claimed nearly 40 lives and displaced thousands. It demanded that the families affected by the conflict be rehabilitated immediately.

The JNH leadership said at a news conference here that Hmar militants had triggered the clashes to derail the peace process involving the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) and the Centre. It claimed the genesis of the conflict was the Hmar rebels’ objection to the DHD setting up a “designated camp” at Ditekcherra in accordance with its ceasefire agreement with the Centre.

The Dimasa organisation said the Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) could not accept the fact that the DHD’s presence in Ditekcherra would effectively hinder its passage in and out of the two districts. “The Hmar people based in the two districts want peace just as we do, but outside forces have vitiated the peaceful atmosphere.”

The JNH and other Dimasa organisations claim that the demand for a separate state of “Dimaraji” does not mean the community wants to alienate other tribes.

“Dimasa is a general term for all the people living in Dimaraji or North Cachar Hills. All communities and tribes living in the proposed Dimaraji have nothing to fear,” the JNH leadership said.

It pointed out that the Hmar community had always been represented in the North Cachar Hills District Council and there was no reason to believe that the Dimasas would take away that right. “In fact, the first chief executive member of the council was a Hmar. That is proof that the communities based in the area have equal rights.”

The JNH gave the NSCN (I-M) a clean chit, saying some leaders of the Hmar community had launched a “misinformation campaign” to deflect the blame for the clashes to the Naga outfit. It also questioned the efficacy of the administration’s strategy to restore normality.

To highlight the alleged persecution of the Dimasa community by “Hmar terrorists”, the All-Dimasa Students’ Union plans to stage a six-hour demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on April 30.

A 70-member delegation has already called on Union minister of state for home I.D. Swami and the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.