For promoting peace and stability in the CHT
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) treaty was concluded in 1997 for restoring peace and instilling confidence among all people, particularly the members of the tribal communities living in this hill region of Bangladesh. However, discord and dissension seem still not over in the CHT.
It is called a peace treaty because it acknowledges the rights of the indigenous people who have been living there for many many years. Its proper enforcement can facilitate pro-active, affirmative actions, particularly for the "underprivileged" tribal population. However, some people have rightly raised questions over the status of the Bengali people who have settled there also for many years, following the signing of the accord and its operationalisation. Their fear has been that such people would be relegated to the position of "secondary" citizens in that part of their own country, politically, economically and administratively.
The terms of the CHT treaty, as far as they relate to the rights to buying and selling lands of the Bengalis in the CHT, do particularly merit attention here. Will the 'Bangalees' not be allowed to settle in the CHT or migrate to it? Will they also be disenfranchised in the sense that only a few of them would be allowed to contest for elective offices? Some of such worries and concerns still linger on.
In this context, all concerned should take a dispassionate look at the treaty and identify, in real terms, whether there is any unfair provisions therein, creating grounds for discrimination against any section of the population living there. This should be done with an open mind without having any prejudice and without being detrimental to the interests of the tribal population for which the state, as per the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic, has a special responsibility to safeground, uphold and promote their interests.
Furthermore, it is also time to look at operational arrangements relating to the CHT treaty, in order to take actions where "flaws," if any, can be addressed by strengthening and improving further the implementation mechanism for meeting the legitimate interests of all people living in the CHT.
Rafiqul Haque
Agrabad, Chittagong
It is called a peace treaty because it acknowledges the rights of the indigenous people who have been living there for many many years. Its proper enforcement can facilitate pro-active, affirmative actions, particularly for the "underprivileged" tribal population. However, some people have rightly raised questions over the status of the Bengali people who have settled there also for many years, following the signing of the accord and its operationalisation. Their fear has been that such people would be relegated to the position of "secondary" citizens in that part of their own country, politically, economically and administratively.
The terms of the CHT treaty, as far as they relate to the rights to buying and selling lands of the Bengalis in the CHT, do particularly merit attention here. Will the 'Bangalees' not be allowed to settle in the CHT or migrate to it? Will they also be disenfranchised in the sense that only a few of them would be allowed to contest for elective offices? Some of such worries and concerns still linger on.
In this context, all concerned should take a dispassionate look at the treaty and identify, in real terms, whether there is any unfair provisions therein, creating grounds for discrimination against any section of the population living there. This should be done with an open mind without having any prejudice and without being detrimental to the interests of the tribal population for which the state, as per the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic, has a special responsibility to safeground, uphold and promote their interests.
Furthermore, it is also time to look at operational arrangements relating to the CHT treaty, in order to take actions where "flaws," if any, can be addressed by strengthening and improving further the implementation mechanism for meeting the legitimate interests of all people living in the CHT.
Rafiqul Haque
Agrabad, Chittagong