Indigenous people still oppressed
Claims rally
Demanding implementation of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord, recognition of indigenous people in the constitution and an end to the oppression on them, Sommilito Nagorik Samaj organises a rally and sings protest songs on Dhaka University campus yesterday.Photo: STAR
Indigenous people are still being oppressed because they are not recognised in the constitution and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord is yet to be implemented, speakers said at a rally yesterday. Moreover, the campaign of some government policymakers, which say that there is no indigenous people in Bangladesh, is encouraging miscreants to oppress them, they said. Sommilito Nagorik Samaj, a platform of different indigenous, human rights and political organisations, organised the rally on Dhaka University campus to press home their four demands--constitutional recognition of indigenous people, implementation of CHT Peace Accord-1997, separate land commission for plain land indigenous people and ending their oppression. Rashed Khan Menon, president of parliamentary caucus on indigenous people, said the government through its latest amendment of the constitution has created new debate over the identity of indigenous people instead of solving their problem. Veteran left politician Pankaj Bhattacharjee urged all the progressive forces and indigenous communities to continue strengthening their movement to protect the rights of indigenous people. Workers Party of Bangladesh Politburo Member Fazle Hossain Badsha said CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission should be effective and a separate land commission for plain land should be formed to resist eviction of indigenous people from their ancestral land.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments