Guwahati, June 21: The Global Association for Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (GAIPCHT) has strongly condemned what it calls the illegal arrest and torture of 11 innocent indigenous hill residents in two separate operations carried out by the Bangladesh Army on June 19 and 20.
The organization announced it would escalate the matter to international bodies, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).
According to GAIPCHT, the first operation took place on June 19 near the 11-kilometre point on the Marishya–Dighinala road in Baghaichari Upazila, Rangamati district. Bangladesh Army personnel led by Lt. Col. Md. Masud Rana, Commander of the Baghaichhari Zone, arrested Suga Chakma (42) and Bindumoy Chakma (41), falsely accusing them of being collectors for the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF).
The second operation, on June 20, was led by Major Md. Manjur Morshed, Deputy Commander of the Alikadam Zone, in the Punarbason Chakma Para and Emmanuel Tripura Para areas of Lama Upazila, Bandarban district. Nine individuals were arrested and later claimed by the Army to be members of the Parbatya Chhattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), a political group headed by Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council Chairperson Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma, also known as Santu Larma.
Those arrested in Lama include Ananda Mohan Chakma (72), Shantiram Chakma (33), Chatui Chakma (35), Shanti Ranjan Chakma (35), Kalparanjan Chakma (45), Jyoti Bikash Chakma (28), Pakhiram Tripura (31), Chhotiya Tripura (60), and Jewel Tripura (26). The Army claimed to have recovered homemade firearms, knives, mobile phones, and electric cables during the raids.
GAIPCHT, however, rejected these claims, alleging that the arrests were staged and that the detainees were tortured before being handed over to police. The group argued that neither Suga Chakma nor Bindumoy Chakma are affiliated with the UPDF, which it notes is not a banned organization. Similarly, GAIPCHT stated that the nine arrested at Lama are not members of the PCJSS.
“These are orchestrated arrests meant to portray the detainees as armed insurgents so that officers like Lt. Col. Rana and Major Morshed can secure promotions and UN Peacekeeping assignments,” said Suhas Chakma, GAIPCHT convenor.
GAIPCHT has declared its intention to file formal complaints with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the UN DPKO. “We demand the unconditional release of all innocent hill people and call on the UN to bar both officers from participating in peacekeeping operations,” said Sanchay Chakma, GAIPCHT’s Country Representative in Switzerland.
