PMO order stops workshop on CHT people's land rights

A two-day workshop on the land rights issues of indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) that began yesterday morning at Rangamati was forced to stop in the afternoon following a 'directive' from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The deputy commissioner of Rangamati informed the police super about the PMO 'order' and directed the officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station to take immediate action.

The police served the order to the organisers at 2:00pm when the workshop was in progress.

The organisers stopped the workshop after receiving the order.

A total of 68 representatives from different NGOs were participating in the workshop to find ways to resolve the land disputes as well as to raise a 'uniform demand' to ensure the land rights of the indigenous people in the region.

Six NGOs -- Hill Tracts NGO forum (HTNF), Tangya, Maleya, Mrochet, Kateng and Movement for the Protection of Forests and Land Rights in CHT (MPFLR), jointly organised the workshop with the financial assistance from the Royal Danish Embassy in Dhaka.

The organisers later protested the government order to stop the workshop. At a press conference in the evening they termed the move 'undemocratic' and 'unconstitutional.'

The PMO office might have been misguided by wrong information and influenced to stop the workshop, said Goutam Dewan, former chairman of Rangamati Hill District Council. "We held such workshops earlier, but there was no bar," he added.

"We arrange the workshop with the participation of grassroots people to find out concrete solutions to the land disputes. It could help the government in this regard," Goutam said.

Lalit Chandra Chakma, secretary of HTNF, Shaktipad Tripura, advocate Shaktiman Chakma, Santushita Chakma Bakul, Tuku Talukder and Sudatta Bikash Tanchangya, among others, were present at the press conference.