New Delhi: Over 100 houses and shops of the indigenous people belonging to the Chakma community were set ablaze in the Boalkhali and Dighinala Sadar areas of Khagrachari district in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts by illegal Muslim plain settlers on Thursday.
The Bangladesh Army personnel stationed at the Dighinala Cantonment reportedly facilitated the illegal plain settlers in carrying out arson, which occurred around 5 PM Bangladesh time.
Condemning the attack on the indigenous Chakma community, Suhas Chakma, Director of the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), said, “Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, lawlessness prevailed in the country. Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus authorized the Bangladesh Army with magisterial power on 17 September 2024 but the same Bangladesh Army supported the burning down of the Chakma shops and houses at Dighinala Sadar today. Consequently, there is no Chakma left in the Dighinala sadar area. We are still waiting for details of casualties or other violence at this stage.”
Then President General Ziaur Rahman facilitated the settlement of around 500,000 illegal Muslim plain settlers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) from 1979 to 1983.
This deliberate policy aimed to diminish the indigenous population’s majority status on their own land. As a result, illegal settlers now comprise over 50% of the CHTs’ total population.
The attack comes just a day after a massive rally was organized by indigenous students under the banner “Sanghat O Boishamyo Birodhi Parahari Chhatra Andolan” (Movement Against Conflict and Discrimination).
Nearly 40,000 indigenous people gathered in Khagrachari for the “March for Identity” rally. The demonstration highlighted their demand for recognition of their rights and the protection of their unique cultural identities.
Chakma stated that the Yunus government’s failure to provide security and protection has led to the burning of shops and homes belonging to the Chakma people.
“Such act of violence underscores the growing insecurity faced by indigenous communities in the CHTs. The issue of lack of safety and security for the Chakmas will be raised before international bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Council,” he said.
