The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC), an international rights group, calls for an immediate and peaceful resolution to the escalating tensions arising from recent activities involving armed groups and law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh’s hilly district of Bandarban.
Signed by CHTC Co-chairs Sultana Kamal, Elsa Stamatopoulou, and Myrna Cunningham Kain, a press release stated on April 16th that CHTC strongly condemns the alleged bank robberies and attacks on police forces by the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) in Ruma and Thanchi of Bandarban on 2nd and 3rd April 2024.
The commission urges the security forces to ensure protection of the civilians, while expressing its concerns over indiscriminate detention of Bawm community people in retaliation to KNF, as reports have emerged that many of the arrestees are innocent civilians, including pregnant women, students, teachers, and government employees.
“The Commission also calls for concerted efforts to uphold the CHT Accord and facilitate constructive dialogue for sustainable peace,” the press release said.
The commission considers the limits on individual rice purchases for Jumma households, capped at a maximum of 5kg, as ‘collective punishment’ against the entire Bawm community. The government imposed this restriction on Jumma residents of Ruma, Thanchi, Rwangchari, and Chimbuk to disrupt food supplies to KNF.
The international group suspects that inception of some armed groups like KNF and the Marma Nationalist Party is a part of ‘divide and rule’ policy that hinders the implementation of the CHT Accord and also destabilises harmony among the CHT people.
The commission believes that the conflicting situation in CHT stems from the prolonged non-implementation of the CHT Accord, even 25 years after its signing.
“The longer the government delays implementation, the more complex the human rights and political situation in CHT will become,” the commission alerted the government.
