Withdraw cases against Madhupur Adivasis
Speakers urge government
Speakers at a seminar yesterday urged the government to withdraw hundreds of cases filed by the forest department against the indigenous people of Madhupur forest in Tangail.
They claimed that most of the cases were fabricated and filed to save locally powerful people like timber traders, brick kiln owners, and corrupt officials of the department.
A study shows the forest department has filed 314 cases against the Adivasis on allegations of illegal timber trading and massive deforestation over the last 30 years (1980 to 2010).
Due to the costs of running cases, the economic condition of the victims--Garos, Koch, and Barmans--living in Madhupur forest since time immemorial, has been deteriorating.
The Adivasis have to sell assets, cut back on household expenditures, take loans from NGOs, and mortgage lands to run cases, the study says.
"Almost every forest official is corrupt and has links with timber traders. The officials sue the Adivasis, as they (officials) have to find some scapegoats to pin the blame", said Ojoy A Mri, chairman of Adivasi Cultural Development Forum.
Dr Monirul Islam Khan, a professor at Dhaka University, presented the findings of the study, "Madhupur Forest, State and the Lawsuits: A Case of Ethnic Marginalisation in Bangladesh". Research and Development Collective (RDC) and Oxfam, two NGOs that organised the seminar at Cirdap auditorium in the city, conducted the study.
Dr Monirul said the victims used to flee houses and live in the jungle for months to avoid arrest and hassles of attending court and frequent pressure from creditors.
"I think, these cases have been filed to drive the indigenous people out of their land, as we see that the forest department never filed any case against timber traders and brick kiln owners who are responsible for deforestation".
Prof Monirul also urged the government to legalise the residential rights of the Adivasis in Madhupur forest area to protect the forest.
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