Chittagong Hill Tracts: Bangladeshi Government Responsible for Region’s Instability
A few weeks ago, indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area protested against the opening of a new medical college in their region. The protesters were asking that the CHT Peace Accords, adopted in 1997, be fully implemented before the university becomes operational. As the government seems to have ignored these manifestations, an organisation of indigenous students, the Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP), stated that the government should be held responsible for the disorders that will most likely follow. The PCP also asked indigenous families not to apply to that university for the time being.
Photo courtesy of jankie@flickr
Below is an article by The Daily Star:
Since the government ignored demands to refrain from opening Rangamati Science and Technology University before the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) peace accord's complete implementation, it will be held responsible for any untoward incident and instability in the region.
Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP), an organisation of indigenous students, stated this through a statement issued yesterday [26 January 2015].
They said the government published an advertisement on January 15 regarding admission from the current session although the university had no campus or building.
The government is yet to ensure the rights of indigenous people living in the CHT and effectively implement the peace accord which was signed in 1997, it said.
Although an untoward situation arose following the opening of a medical college in Rangamati this year, the government intends to open the university despite protests of indigenous leaders and PCP, it read.
So it was clear that the government was doing so not to expand the opportunity of higher education but as part of a “conspiracy” against the indigenous people in the name of development, they said.
The PCP also urged students and parents not to be a part of the “conspiracy” by seeking admission at the university.
