RANGAMATI, Bangladesh (AP) — A quarter-century ago, Modhumala Chakma said he had to leave his home at night and walk the nearby hills because they were controlled by an organization of tribal insurgents seeking autonomy in southeastern Bangladesh.
“It’s a difficult time,” says the 60-year-old agricultural worker from an ethnic minority in the Shuvolong region of Rangamati, one of the 3 border districts of India and Myanmar jointly known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. “We lived in constant worry about being raped or killed. “
“Those days are over,” she says.
Eleven ethnic teams live in the 3 districts, Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari. Approximately one part of the population is made up of tribes that basically adhere to Theravada Buddhism and the other part are Bengalis, usually Muslims.
Twenty-five years ago, the government and a tribal organization signed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Agreement, officially ending the insurgency. While Modhumala is excited by the progress made since then, she doesn’t know if the region has established peace.
The government insists it has complied with most of the terms of the Dec. 2, 1997, treaty, but tribal teams and their supporters say it still wants to address critical issues, such as territorial disputes.
The region covers one-tenth of Bangladesh’s total territory and has a population of 1. 6 million. The armed insurgency, led by an organization called Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, demanded autonomy and territorial rights for its people. The insurgency began in 1977, six years after Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.
“This component of Bangladesh has been in a state of war, in a state of armed confrontation for a long time. Since 1997, the region has replaced in many ways,” said Delwar Hossain, a professor of foreign affairs at Dhaka University. “It’s solid and has resulted in quality adjustments in many ways. “
He says things are moving in the right direction, it takes time to heal.
Experts say land conflicts remain a fear and tribal teams say several beyond governments have violated the treaty by allowing non-indigenous Bengalis to settle in the area, changing its character and taking land away from tribal teams.
Violence and crime still plague the Chittagong Hill Tracts as the government struggles to succeed in the most remote spaces where gangs are said to pressure and extort money. Dipankar Talukdar, a four-time member of the ruling Awami League party in parliament in Rangamati, said some teams use disputes as a distraction.
“They want a box to do the extortion,” he said. They talk about independence and obtaining certain rights and other things. But the initial explanation is to extort. “
He said security agencies arrested members of a new organization called the Kuki Chin National Front that harbored fundamentalist terrorists in remote jungles for specific purposes.
“The civil and military administration is running together to identify peace in response to Americans or teams that want to destabilize the region,” said a senior government official in Rangamati Mohammad Mizanur Rahman. “It’s an ongoing process. “
Since the signing of the agreement, it has made efforts to expand infrastructure in the region. In 1997, the Chittagong Hill Tracts had 2,800 kilometers (1,700 miles) of roads, which amounted to about 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). The number of hospitals and clinics increased from 24 to 270, and the number of temples and churches from 1,663 to 2,820, according to the Array.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated dozens of bridges at CHT last month. New roads are being built. Electricity arrives. All this is very smart for us,” said Abdus Salam, a farmer whose father moved to Rangamati decades ago. Live quietly now, I think in the long run it will be much better.