Reza Mahmud :Three districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts became hot again over the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission (Amendment) Act 2016. The Bengali people in the region demanded repeal of the act terming it an ‘unprecedented black law’.Five Bangali organisations of the Hill tracts observed daylong strike on Sunday at Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban districts to prevent the first meeting of the Commission set for the day. The amended act was published in gazette on August 9 as a law. The Bangali organisations vowed to continue their movement until the law is repealed. “The amended act is an unprecedented black law because according to the article 6 (1) of the Section 16 of the amended act, no one could file appeal to court or other authorities against any decision made by the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission. The main aim of the amended law is to evict Bangales from the CHT,” Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan, the former Chairman of CHT Development Board, told The New Nation yesterday. Also a BNP central leader, Bhuiyan demanded that the law be totally repealed or re-amended. Atiqur Rahman, Bandarban district president of the Parbatya Nagorik Parishad said, according to the main law (previous act), the decision of the Commission’s Chairman was the final but now it has been changed. The Commission has not adopted any hill resident as Bangali. It is totally ill motivated to make CHT empty Bangali. In contrast, Justice Anwarul Haque, the Chairman of the Commission said, “It is totally baseless idea that the act is targeted to evict Bangalees from the area. The Commission will work only about the disputed lands.”Presiding over the meeting Anwarul Haque said this after the first meeting of the Commission, held at Rangamati Circuit House. The Chairman said the Commission is ready to start its work. After the amendment of the law there was no more problem to start resolving the disputes on lands of the area, he added.Parbattya Chattagram Ancholik Parishad Chairman Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma, Rangamati district council chairman Brish Ketu Chakma, Khagrachhari District Council chairman Kongjuri Marma, Rangamati Chakma Circle Chief King Barrister Debashish Roy, Mobinur Rashid Amin, Additional Divisional Commissioner of Chittagong and Secretary of the Commission Rezaul Karim attended the meeting. The life has been adversely affected in the three hiull districts due to the daylong strike enforced by five Bangali groups.The five groups- Parbattya Nagarik Parishad, Parbattya Ganaparishad, Somo-Odhikar Andolon, Parbattya Bangali Chhatra Parishad and Parbattya Bangali Chhatra Oikya Parishad – have called the strike to prevent the meeting of the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission.As a result of the strike, movement of transport, both on roads and waterways, has been affected in Rangamati, Khagrhachharhi and Bandarban districts.BGB and army personnel were deployed at vital points of the three districts towns.Rangamati Kotwali police OC Mohammed Rashid said that strike supporters were picketing in the town.But he said no untoward incident has been reported. It is to be noted that CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission was created after the CHT Peace Accord was signed on Dec 2, 1997.Parbattya Chattagram Janasanghati Samiti (PCJSS) President Santu Larma signed the accord with the then Awami League-led government.
