‘Peace remains elusive without CHT accord’

It is not possible to establish peace in the rest of the country keeping the Chittagong Hill Tracts in an uproar, said speakers at a rally in Chattogram yesterday.

The implementation of the CHT Peace Accord is a must to establish peace in the hills, they said in the divisional solidarity rally, organised by CHT Peace Accord Implementation Movement, to mark 25 years of the accord's signing, in front of Chattogram Jela Parishad Bhaban.

Lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon, also president of Workers' Party of Bangladesh, said the CHT accord was signed after a long movement in 1997.

"I had the privilege to be associated with the process. Twenty-five years have gone by but it is seen with utmost concern that the hills are still in an uproar," said Menon. "The rest of the country is being made unstable due to this. We know from media reports that radical organisations have been conducting armed training in the hills, involving youths from across the country."

An unwritten martial law prevails in the hills. The displaced people were supposed to be rehabilitated, but whenever we go to talk about the issue, settlers impose strikes and blockades to stop the process.

— Rashed Khan Menon Lawmaker

Menon also said he has appealed to the government on multiple occasions to implement the accord fully.

Besides, many indigenous communities were displaced due to the influx of people from across the country during the Ziaur Rahman regime, he said.

"An unwritten martial law prevails in the hills. The displaced people were supposed to be rehabilitated, but whenever we go to talk about the issue, settlers impose strikes and blockades to stop the process," he added.

Saukhin Chakma, member of CHT Regional Council, said as the peace accord has not been implemented in 25 years, the hills are still in a tumultuous state.

"Different groups and sub-groups have been created in the hills under the patronisation of the government against the implementation of the accord," Saukhin said.

Shah Alam, president of Communist Party of Bangladesh, said it was the Awami League government that signed the peace accord. "They have been in power for 14 years with a landslide majority in the parliament. They can easily implement the accord if they are cordial about the issue." 

Bajlur Rashid Firoj, general secretary of Bangaldesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), said the government must fully implement the CHT Peace Accord to fulfil its promises to the people of CHT and ensure their rights.

They [AL] have been in power for 14 years with a landslide majority in the parliament. They can easily implement the accord if they are cordial about the issue.

— Shah Alam President, Communist Party of Bangladesh

Poet and journalist Abul Momen, who presided over the rally, said big political parties in the country are silent on this issue. "The parties are fighting over power. It is the moral duty of Bangalees and the people of the hills to pressurise the government into implementing the accord." 

Following the rally, a mass procession was brought out, which paraded the main thoroughfares of the port city.