Implement peace deal fully, demands PCJSS
Frustrated leaders threaten to go back to armed insurgency
Leaders of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity attend a discussion on the ground of Khagrachhari Sadar upazila parishad, below, indigenous people join a rally on the premises of Rajbari Gymnasium in Rangamati town yesterday marking the 13th anniversary of Chittagong Hill Tracts peace accord. Photo: STAR
Leaders of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) yesterday once again urged the government to take steps for full implementation of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) peace accord signed on December 2 in 1997. The peace accord signed between the then Awami League government and the PCJSS marked an end to two-decade-long insurgency in the hill region. At a large rally organised by district unit of PCJSS on the premises of Rajbari Gymnasium in Rangamati town marking the 13th anniversary of the peace deal, indigenous leaders warned that they may have to go back to guerrilla lives if the government does not implement the deal. As the peace deal was not executed fully, the fundamental rights of indigenous people including their constitutional rights and right to land have not been established, they said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is sincere about proper implementation of the accord but some ministers and MPs do not have political goodwill about the treaty, they said, adding that some 9700 indigenous families who had returned from India are yet to get back their land and the government did not rehabilitate them. Central PCJSS Vice President Ushatan Talukder addressed the gathering as chief guest. Presided over by PCJSS district unit President Gunendu Bikash Chakma, the rally was addressed, among others, by Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad General Secretary Rana Das Gupta, General Secretary of Workers Party Chittagong unit Abu Hanif, PCJSS central Secretary Pranati Bikash Chakma, district unit Secretary of CHT Mohila Samity Suprova Chakma, civil society leader Sukhmoy Rava, Kishore Kumar Chakma and Vice President of Pahari Chhatra Parishad Suvajyoti Dewan. Blaming the armed cadres of anti-peace treaty organisation United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) for killing the leaders and activists of PCJSS and extorting innocent people, the indigenous leaders urged the government to ban UPDF. They warned of tougher movement in CHT if the peace accord is not implemented fully. A few speakers also criticised CHT affairs Minister Dipankar Talukder for 'not playing' proper role needed for full implementation of the accord. Thousands of indigenous people with colourful banners and festoons gathered on the premises of Rajbari Gymnasium to observe the anniversary of peace accord yesterday. Later a mammoth procession paraded the main roads of the town. PCJSS organised a cultural programme at district Shilpakola Academy in the town. Rangamati Hill District Council and district administration jointly observed the 13th anniversary of the peace deal. District Awami League held a meeting at its office in Rangamati on the occasion. PCJSS and its front organisations CHT Mohila Samity and Pahari Chhatra Parishad also observed the 13th anniversary of the peace accord in Bandarban and Khagrachhari yesterday.
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