The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination & Liberation (IPMSDL) has issued a strong condemnation of the recent arrest of eleven Indigenous Jumma people in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), calling the incidents “illegal and baseless.”
According to the IPMSDL, the arrests took place during two military operations on June 19 and 20 in Baghaichari Upazila, Rangamati district. On the first day, Suga Chakma and Bindumoy Chakma were apprehended and allegedly framed as collectors for the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF). The next day, nine more individuals were arrested under suspicion of affiliation with the Parbattya Chhattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS).
The statement claims that all eleven individuals were falsely accused of possessing weapons and subjected to torture by the Bangladesh Army prior to their handover to the police. The Global Association of Indigenous Peoples of the CHT has challenged the legality of the arrests and dismissed the claims that the detainees are insurgents, suggesting the operations may have been motivated by internal military advancement interests.
While both the UPDF and PCJSS operate legally and are not banned organizations, the IPMSDL says the arrests betray a lack of commitment by the Bangladeshi government to implement the CHT Peace Accord in good faith. The PCJSS, once a key player in the national liberation struggle, has since shifted to democratic parliamentary participation following the accord’s signing.
“These attacks reflect a breach of trust in the state’s sincerity towards peace,” said IPMSDL Co-Convenors Beverly Longid and Jitten Yumnam. The group is demanding the immediate release of all detainees and accountability for military officials involved in the operations and alleged torture.
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