Rejoinder, our reply
Zahirul Islam, managing director of Lama Rubber Industries Limited, in a rejoinder claimed that the news report on the grabbing of indigenous Mro people's jhum land carried by this paper on February 13 was "completely one sided, fake and very harmful" for its shareholders.
Without mentioning the headline of the report, the rejoinder read: "We have 64 plot holders of respectable peoples of the society not land grabber made Lama Rubber Industry."
It also stated, "Several investigation was made by different govt. agencies. We got govt. allocations and have valid documents but tribal people have no documents.
"But still for the sake of peace in the area we became silent. Many times they disturbed us. Even with the link of so called derailed Shanti Bahini they hijacked once our Manager and tortured."
OUR REPLY
The rejoinder sweepingly terms our report "completely one sided, fake and very harmful" for the shareholders -- without any justification or proof of exactly which parts of the report were false and how.
Zahirul Islam did not provide any documents that substantiate the rejoinder or go against the content of the report.
The report is also not one-sided as it carried quotes from Lama Rubber Industries Limited Manager Arif Hossain.
Zahirul claimed several investigations were conducted by different government agencies, but we don't understand why agencies, and not the local administration in Chattogram Hill Tracts, would investigate an allegation of jhum land grabbing.
Though he didn't provide any document in this regard, The Daily Star collected a copy of an investigation report from the local administration.
In 2017, the investigation was conducted by Sayed Iqbal, the then assistant commissioner (land) of Lama upazila, into the plots the rubber company claims as theirs.
Signed in October 2017, the investigation report stated that the Mro people of Daluchhari mouza had been using this jhum land for generations and if the land was allotted for use as rubber plantation, the Mro people would be left with no means for their livelihood.
If the land was not taken over by Lama Rubber Industries, there was no danger of peace being disturbed in the area, it read.
The Daily Star also talked to a number of villagers and indigenous community leaders, including the headman (mouza chief) and karbaris (village chiefs) to learn about the land grabbing.
We stand by our report.
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