Sylhet Convention Ends
'Protect rights of indigenous communities'
With “Sylhet Declaration”, calling to protect the region's environment and rights of indigenous communities, the three-day convention on “Adivasis and Environment in Sylhet” ended at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) on Saturday.
The organisers, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), Bangladesh Poribesh Network and Sust, also demanded in-depth studies on environmental protection and implementation of the rights of indigenous people on their land.
A six-point demand was placed in the convention for stopping deforestation, hill cutting, the eviction of indigenous people on the pretext of stone extraction and extortion on tea garden workers.
The demand to return indigenous owners their 400 acres of land at Nahar Tea Garden in Moulvibazar, ensure homestead rights of tea garden workers and remove disparity in pay structure among the workers were also placed.
Former Chief Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman, addressing as the chief guest, said indigenous communities around the globe face discrimination but there is a lot to recognise and learn from their thousand-year-old culture.
Former advisers to a caretaker government Sultana Kamal and Akbar Ali Khan, Sust VC Prof Md Saleh Uddin, columnist Syed Abul Moksud, Raja Devashis Roy and veteran freedom fighter Kakon Bibi addressed the convention.
Adivasi Forum General Secretary Sanjeeb Drong, Bapa Central General Secretary Abdul Matin, Dipen Bhattacharya, Sharif Zamil and Zahirul Haque Shakil also spoke on the occasion.
Around 20 papers on adivasis and Sylhet region's environment were presented yesterday.
Discussions were also held where lawmakers Syed Mohsin Ali, Imran Ahmed and Nabab Ali Abbas, former lawmakers Nazim Kamran Chowdhury and Kolim Uddin Ahmed Milon and a number of environment and adivasi activists took part.
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