Source: chtnews.com, Friday, 13 June, 2014 |
THE
INTERNATIONAL Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission has condemned the 11 June
attack on indigenous Jumma villagers in Babuchara by BGB’s 51th Battalion and
called for an independent investigation and justice, according to a press
release issued by it.
It said “there are allegations that both the BGB and nearby police attacked
and injured local indigenous people who protested the setting up of the
battalion and also used tear gas on them.”
“It is completely unacceptable for state authorities to use such brutal
force against protesters.” the Commission added.
It urged the authorities to carry out a fair, thorough and independent
investigation into this attack and arrest those responsible for abusing their
power as law-enforcers.
The statement, issued on 12 June, has been signed by the Commission’s
co-chairs Eric Avebury, Sultana Kamal and Elsa Stamatopoulou.
The full text of the Commission’s press statement follows:
CHT Commission Condemns BGB & Police attack on indigenous
villagers in Dighinala;
Calls for urgent action for independent investigation and justice
Dhaka: June 12, 2014. The International Chittagong Hill Tracts
Commission (CHTC) condemns the alleged attack by the 51 Border
Guards Bangladesh (BGB) on indigenous villagers in Babuchara Union in
Dighinala Upazila of Khagrachari district in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)
of Bangladesh in the afternoon of June 11, 2014. The CHTC calls
upon the Government to take immediate action to ensure fully independent and
impartial investigation and bring the guilty to justice in a manner to prevent
any further recurrence.
According to news reports, between 14 to 17 people have been injured in this
attack which was over a long-standing dispute over land which the BGB has been
trying to use to set up a new battalion.
There is a Court Stay Order over the land which says that no one is to
use the piece of land in question until the Court has given its verdict
over the ownership of the said land. Local indigenous people have been using
this land for cultivation for many years and it was only in 1991, during the
insurgency and before land ownership issues were settled, that the Government
of Bangladesh took the initiative to build a BGB Battalion there, to which the
locals protested as they had customary ownership of the land. It is most
regrettable and unacceptable that members of the discipline forces like
BGB and police defy the Court Order and involve in gross violation of
human rights of the innocent people of the indigenous community.
In the incident of June 11, there are allegations that both the BGB and
nearby police attacked and injured local indigenous people who
protested the setting up of the battalion and also used tear gas on them.
It is completely unacceptable for state authorities to use such brutal
force against protesters. We immediately urge the authorities to carry out a
fair, thorough and independent investigation into this attack and
arrest those responsible for abusing their power as
law-enforcers. Those found guilty in the due process must be brought
to justice failing which such violations will go on unabated. CHTC also
calls upon the Government to urgently amend the Land Commission Act
and appoint an able, credible and fair person as the Chairperson of
the Land Commission to settle all land disputes in the CHT to prevent further
violence and human rights violations in the area.
