48-hr blockade in CHT from today

Three Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) districts will remain isolated for 48 hours from this morning due to a road blockade and hartal programme called by different regional indigenous political parties and organisations.

The CHT situation may turn volatile as the Bangalee community has also drawn up a programme to oppose the blockade and the shut down.

Parbatya Chattgram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) enforces its 48-hour road blockade programme in three hill districts to press home its four-point demand. At the same time Bharat Pratyagata Jumma Sharanarthi Kalyan Samity, the platform of the indigenous internal refugees, has called a 48-hour hartal from today in Khagrachhari only in demand of food rations throughout the year.

The government has deployed police forces and strengthened army presence at different points of the three hill districts.

The PCJSS demands are full implementation of the CHT peace agreement, appointment of a leader of ethnic origin to the post of chairman of the CHT Development Board by removing Wadud Bhuiyan MP, pulling out of all camps of army, ansars and Village Defence Party from the hill areas and handing over of the charge of CHT Affairs Ministry to a full-fledged minister of ethnic origin.

The PCJSS announced the programme on January 6 as their ultimatum for fulfilling the demands ended without any positive response from the government.

Indigenous people, who returned from the refugee camps in Tripura, India after the signing the peace pact of 1997 brought out a huge procession supporting their two-day hartal programme yesterday afternoon in Khagrachhari, our correspondent reported.

They have also announced that if the government does not meet their demand immediately, they will observe hartal for 72 hours from February 7.

Meanwhile, different platforms for Bangalee settlers including Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad (PBCP), Parbatya Gana Parishad (PGP) and Parbatya Oikya Parishd (POP), have announced resistance programmes. Some leaders of the BNP and Jamaat were seen in a procession of the settlers, our Khagrachhari correspondent added.

The leaders of the Bangalee people reportedly had a meeting yesterday with a high-profile national leader of the ruling BNP regarding their resistance programme.

These organisations of Bangalee settlers in the hill districts have announced similar programmes in Rangamati and Bandarban.