Govt to implement CHT accord fully

The Daily Star
January 30, 2009
Rangamati: The Government of Bangladesh is going to fully implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord which remains shelved for the last seven years during the BNP-Jamaat and caretaker rule.

The accord was signed between Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) and the government on December 2, 1997 ending two decades of bush war in the region. The government's one of the first steps in this regard would be reforming the CHT Land Commission, said sources in the CHT affairs ministry. The State Minister for CHT affairs Dipangkar Talukder after a meeting at the ministry told newspersons: "The government is going to implement the peace accord soon." He however did not mention any specific date.

The CHT Regional Council was formed in 1999 following the peace accord but no other major initiatives came in accordance with the agreement. Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma, chairman of the Council and also chief of PCJSS, was present at the meeting. He demands that the government implement the peace accord for greater interest of the country and appoint Tindigenous people at the CHT development board as per the accord. He also demands banning United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF), another regional political platform in the region, terming it an outfit against the sentiment of the indigenous people.

Jyotirindra Lal Tripura, lawmaker from Khagrachhari, Rangamati Zilla Parishad Chairman Jagad Jyoti Chakma, Khagrachhari Zilla Parishad acting chairman Ruithi Karbari, Bandarban Zilla Parishad Chairman Thaijama Lusai, new King of Bomang circle Saching Pru Chowdhury and three Bangla-speaking representatives from CHT also attended the meeting.