Staff Reporter :
Speakers at a discussion on ’20 years of Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord’ on Saturday said though 20 years have already elapsed, nearly nothing of the accord implemented so far.
“After 20 years of the CHT accord, miscreants recently set fire on indigenous people’s homes in Langadu of Rangamati district. Associates of certain forces are behind the attack,” Sultana Kamal, a former advisor of
the caretaker government, said while presiding over a roundtable meeting in CIRDAP auditorium in the capital city.
She added: “We have seen that there is no progress of the judicial process of the incident yet.”
The meeting entitled, ’20 years of CHT peace accord: problems of land right issue and solutions’, was organised by the Association for Land Reforms and Development (ALRD).
Sultana Kamal alleged that there is a huge lack of political will in the government to implement the peace accord.
She said a lot of scope was there to implement the accord in the last 20 years. But the government did very little in this regard.
The former advisor stressed the need for creating pressure on the government to implement the CHT peace accord.
“If we try our best together, the changes are high to implement the accord,” she said.
Khuhsi Kabir, Chairperson of the ALRD, said, the Bangalee settlers in CHT should mind that they are living in the ‘indigenous’ people’s area.
“Bangalees should follow and obey the customs and rules of the ‘indigenous’ people there as like as we follow the rules of foreign countries when we travel abroad,” she said.
She said, the ‘indigenous’ people were involved in armed ‘struggle’ long time before 1997. After the signing of the peace accord, the ‘indigenous’ people hoped that they would get their rights fulfilled, but it has not been implemented yet.”
Khushi Kabir alleged that the Bangalee settlements were made in those areas aiming to make the ‘indigenous’ people minority.
She said, “After signing the accord, one side refrained from ‘armed struggle’ and being deprived for two decades. The government, on the other hand, stopped construction of Army camps but setting up huge BGB camps in CHT areas what has made us anxious.”
Shamsul Huda, Executive Director of ALRD, Goutam Dewan, Convener of Parbattya Chattagram Nagorik Committee, Banchhita Chakma, Member of Jatiyo Manabadhikar Commission, Sanjib Drong, General Secre
