Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service
Kolkata, September 7
Reiterating its claim on Arunachal Pradesh, China on Monday refused to give details on “five missing Indians.”
“China has never recognized the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’, which is China’s southern Tibet region, and we still have no details about the question about the Indian army sending a message to the PLA about five Indians missing in the region: spokesperson of Chinese FM Zhao Lijian, ”said a tweet from China’s state-run Global Times newspaper.
Five youths from the Nacho area of the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, who went to the Indochina border with the army as porters, were picked up by the Chinese PLA as the boys returned to their villages.
The incident, which took place on September 3, came to light on September 5 when the local MLA Congress Ninong Erring sent out a tweet. Erring was alerted by an appeal posted on Facebook by one of the five missing brothers.
On Sunday, Kiren Rijiju, the union of the Minister of State for Youth Welfare and Sports, which is also a member of Arunachal Pradesh’s Lok Sabha, said in a tweet that the Indian army had conveyed a message about the missing youth to the PLA via the direct line. A response from the PLA was expected, Rijiju wrote.
The capture of the youths by the PLA has caused much consternation in Arunachal Pradesh. The missing boys belong to the Tagin tribe. The All Tagin Students Union (ATSU), while condemning the People’s Liberation Army (EPL) for “kidnapping the“ teenagers ”, today accused the authorities of not paying attention to one of the most strategically important places in the country .
“The sacrifices and other aid to the Indian army by the Tagins during the 1962 war have never been recognized by the government and even today the Tagin people live in fear of Chinese aggression,” ATSU said in a statement.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU), an organization that claims to represent the interests of indigenous peoples, held an emergency meeting and said the Nacho incident reflected “the failure of the central and state government to protect life and life. security of our people who live in the border areas ”.
Earlier today, a spokesman for the Arunachal Pradesh government said they were closely monitoring the case. District Administration was ordered to assist all interested agencies in tracking down the missing children, the spokesperson added.
