Bangladesh Defense
www.newagebd.net
www.newagebd.net
Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh integral part of India: Chakma bodies of Tripura
Chakma National Council of India and Tripura Chakma Students Association, who have observed August 17 as âBlack Dayâ since 2016, held protests across 11 locations of Tripura.indianexpress.com
Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh integral part of India: Chakma bodies of Tripura
Chakma National Council of India and Tripura Chakma Students Association, who have observed August 17 as âBlack Dayâ since 2016, held protests across 11 locations of Tripura.
Chakma National Council of India and Tripura Chakma Students Association have been observing âBlack Dayâ on August 17 for three years now.
After seven decades of independence, people of Chakma ethnic community living in Tripura have claimed Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to be âintegral partâ of India and demanded justice from the International Court of Justice citing grounds of ethnic persecution.
Chakma National Council of India and Tripura Chakma Students Association, who have observed August 17 as âBlack Dayâ since 2016, held protests across 11 locations of Tripura including Agartala, Kanchanpur, Pecharthal, Kumarghat, Manu, Chailengta, Chowmanu, Gandacherra, Natunbazaar, Silachari and Birchandramanu this year.
Crisis deepens as meaningful negotiation eludes CHT
Tension deepened in the Chittagong Hill Tracts with authorities failing as of Sunday to initiate a meaningful negotiation between the national minorities and Bengalis and take proper legal step to...
Crisis deepens as meaningful negotiation eludes CHT
Staff Correspondent 23 September, 2024, 00:34
View attachment 8785
Army personnel stand guard in Khagrachari district headquarters on Sunday amid road and waterways blockade enforced by national minority groups protesting at the deaths of their fellows in the recent violence. | New Age photo
Tension deepened in the Chittagong Hill Tracts with authorities failing as of Sunday to initiate a meaningful negotiation between the national minorities and Bengalis and take proper legal step to bring the perpetrators of the sectarian violence to book.
The murder case, filed over the death of Mohammad Mamun, 35, on September 19, included three Bengalis as key accused, while mentioned previous enmity as the possible motive, indicating the involvement of a force that turned a rather regular crime into the subject of a violence that rocked the three hill districts.
The police failed to arrest any of the three key accused as of Sunday after failing to contain the violence in the first place though there were witnesses to Mamunâs murder, at least one of them being treated at hospital, according to the murder case.
âEvidence is there on how the murder was committed and who might be behind it,â said Kohinoor, Mamunâs sister-in-law, who talked on behalf of Mukta Akter, wife of Mamun who filed the case, as she was too sick to speak.
New Age correspondent in Khagrachari reported that the three key accused in Mamunâs murder are Jubo Dal leader Shakil Ahammad, 37, and two Awami League leaders Rafiqul Alam, 56, and Didarul Alam, 50. Rafiq is a former mayor of Khagrachhari municipality.
The case statement said that Shakil kidnapped Mamun acting on the order of Rafiq and Didar.
Mamun, who the police said stood accused in several criminal cases, was found dead on September 18. The next day several thousand Bengalis brought out a procession in Dighinala protesting at the murder, passing the blame on the national minorities and eventually launching an arson attack gutting nearly 100 shops and houses, mostly belonging to the minorities, and at least one Buddhist temple.
The arson attack forced hundreds of Buddhist families comprising over half of Dighinalaâs population to flee for their lives to the forest. Most of them remained hiding in the forest as of Sunday evening at the time of filing of this report.
The Khagrachhari unrest saw three national minority people get killed on September 19 as it spread to Rangamati the next day where one more national minority man was killed and around 50 houses belonging to these communities were vandalised and set on fire.
The violence prompted authorities to impose Section 144 on Friday afternoon on Khagrachhari Sadar and Dighinala upazilas along with Rangamati municipality. The administration in Khagrachari withdrew Section 144 hours later the same day, while in Rangamati it was withdrawn at 11:00am on Sunday.
No cases were filed over the casualties in Khagrachhari until Sunday evening. At least two of the deaths, witnesses and independent human rights observers said, occurred after the military had opened fire on a gathering of the ethnic communities in Khagrachhari sadar.
âMy boy had gone to save a relativeâs shop being informed that Bengalis were about to attack Swanirbhar Bazar,â said Rupsa Chakma, mother of Junan Chakma, who had just turned 21, one of the three dead.
Junanâs family was given Tk 25,000 by the deputy commissionerâs office that promised a fair probe.
Rupsa said that they were yet to decide regarding filing a case over her sonâs killing.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, an independent watchdog, in a statement issued on September 21 said that the military opening fire on a gathering of ethnic minority people resulted in casualties.
Khagrachhari additional superintendent of police Tafiqul Alam said that they contacted families of the deceased who were yet to decide over filing of cases.
âThe police will file case over the incidents if the families donât,â said Tafiq without mentioning how long the police would wait for the families to complain.
No case was filed over the Dighinala arson as well.
The family of the fourth deceased, also a national minority youth, Anik Chakma, who died in Rangamati on September 20, said that they knew nothing about the murder case filed on September 21 over the death with the Kotwali police.
When contacted, Anikâs father, Adar Sen Chakma, said that he was not aware about a case filed over his sonâs death.
âWe had high hopes for Anik. We sent him to Karnaphuli Degree College ignoring all our hardship,â said Adar.
A case over the arson in Rangamati was filed on September 22 in which the police allegedly made every effort to keep the content of the case a secret.
âA delicate crisis involving matters of mutual respect and trust cannot be solved like this,â said Rahel Chakma, a resident of Dighinala.
Residents of Dighinala who left their houses out of fear had not returned as of Sunday evening.
Their hope of returning home faded after the meeting organised between ethnic minorities and Bengalis on Saturday afternoon over the arson attack in Dighinala ended amidst chaos with Bengalis reluctant to let ethnic leaders speak.
âWe were counting on the meeting to find a resolution to the problem through dialogue,â said Chayan Bikash Chakma, chairman, Boalkhali union parishad, Dighinala.
âThey wonât even listen to us and we had to leave immediately after the meeting started,â he said.
Several advisers visited the affected districts on Saturday to mollify the situation. At least one of the advisers was present in the Dighinala meeting that yielded no result, according to the ethnic leaders.
National minority people complained on Sunday facing obstacles from Bengalis during their movement.
The three hill districts, including Bandarban, remained detached from the rest of the country as the 72-hour road and waterways blockade that began on Saturday morning continued amidst an indefinite strike being enforced by the Rangamatiâs bus and launch association.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Agreement Implementation Movement held a protest rally in front of the National Museum in the capital at around 3:30pm on Sunday, demanding fair investigation into the violence in the CHT by a committee comprising human rights activists and civil society representatives.
Their other demands included ensuring the security of the national minorities in the CHT, compensating the families of the deceased and those who lost their property, treatment of the injured, and full implementation of the 1997 CHT peace accord.
The students of Jagannath University also demonstrated in Dhaka protesting at the unrest in the CHT. The United Peopleâs Democratic Front, regional political party based in the CHT, demanded a probe under the supervision of the United Nations.
Students call for restoration of peace in Chittagong Hill Tracts
A group of students has called for the restoration of peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Under the banner of 'Students Living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,' they held a protest rally at the base of Dhaka University's anti-terrorism Raju sculpture on Monday. During the public meeting, the studenthefinancialexpress.com.bd
Students call for restoration of peace in Chittagong Hill Tracts
DU CORRESPONDENT
Published :
Sep 23, 2024 21:11
Updated :
Sep 23, 2024 21:11
View attachment 8791
A group of students has called for the restoration of peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Under the banner of 'Students Living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,' they held a protest rally at the base of Dhaka University's anti-terrorism Raju sculpture on Monday.
During the public meeting, the students expressed concern over the oppression faced by native Bengalis in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They alleged that a faction seeks to take control of the region by removing military presence, aiming to separate Chatoogram from Bangladesh and create an independent Jummland. They warned that if not addressed, this could lead to the need for visas to access areas like Sajek, Rangamati, and Bandarban.
Rakibul Islam, a Dhaka University student, stated that there are plans to designate Chattogram as the "eighth sister" alongside the Seven Sisters of the Northeast. He asserted that efforts are being made to portray native Bengalis as settlers and pledged to combat any conspiracies aimed at separating the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The students called for the intervention of the army to restore peace in the area.
The protesters displayed placards with slogans such as 'No one is tribal, we are all Bangladeshis,' 'Abolish tribal quota,' and 'Tribal campaigns should be declared treason,' among others.
Later in the evening, they held a torch procession starting from the Raju Sculpture.
