Use of customary Adivasi laws to end CHT land disputes urged
(From left) National Human Rights Commission Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman, Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) Executive Director Shaheen Anam, CHT Regional Council Chairman Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, and lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon at a sharing meeting on "Customary Land Laws of 14 Indigenous Communities" in Cirdap auditorium in the capital yesterday. MJF and CHT Regional Council jointly organised the programme.Photo: STAR
Speakers at a meeting yesterday stressed the need for application and preservation of customary laws and traditional practices of the indigenous people to resolve land disputes in the hills. The customary laws which determine land ownership of Adivasis in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), however, should be made consistent with present realities, said Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, chairman of CHT Regional Council. The traditional laws can also apply for plain land Adivasis, the speakers told the meeting where findings of a study on customary land laws of 14 indigenous communities were shared. CHT Regional Council and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) organised the programme in the capital's Cirdap auditorium. Dr Mizanur Rahman, chairman of National Human Rights Commission, said the traditional rules or customs of the 14 indigenous communities needed to be preserved for the sake of solving future problems. General people consider land as capital but for indigenous people land is not only a means of production, it is everything--life, livelihood and culture, he said. Larma alleged that the settlement of five lakh Bangalees in the hills since 1979 had been a process to eliminate the indigenous people. It also proved the government sees Adivasis with annoyance, he said. The speakers demanded full implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord to ensure rights of indigenous people and maintain peace and harmony in the hills. The accord will have to be implemented fully within the tenure of this government, said Dr Mizanur, fearing that no other government would implement it. A separate land commission for plain land Adivasis was also demanded. Rashed Khan Menon, chairman of the parliamentary caucus on indigenous people, Shakti Pada Tripura, study coordinator of CHT Regional Council, and rights activist Sanjeeb Drong also spoke on the occasion. Shaheen Anam, executive director of MJF, moderated the meeting.
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