Law to protect rights demanded

The first-ever national conference on indigenous people of the plain land, held in Rajshahi yesterday, put forward five demands to ensure peaceful co-existence of different communities.
The parliamentary caucus on indigenous peoples organised the conference at Rajshahi Medical College.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Hoque said indigenous people of the hill tracts with 10 lakh population got a Tk 480 crore allocation in the budget whereas those in the plain land with double population got only Tk 16 crore.
Participants demanded at least Tk 100 crore for them in the next budget, formation of a separate ministry for the plain land indigenous people, a separate land commission for them, enact a law to ensure their rights, punishment for the attackers of indigenous leader Bichitra Tirki and proper trial in the killings of all indigenous leaders.
Until the establishment of a separate ministry, the participants demanded a division under the Chittagong Hill Tracts ministry affairs. Bichitra Tirki of Chapainawabganj said,  "My local lawmaker visited me before the election for votes but he never showed up after I was tortured. But the caucus always helped me." Adivasi leaders Sanjeeb Drong, Rabindranath Soren and convenor of the caucus Fazle Hossain Badsha also spoke.