Statement On The Illegal Arrest Of 11 Jumma People In CHT

The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination & Liberation expresses utmost condemnation on the illegal and baseless arrest of eleven Indigenous Jumma People in Chittagong Hills Tract last June 19th & 20th.

The eleven were arrested in two operations carried out by the Bangladesh Army. On June 19th, Suga Chakma and Bindumoy Chakma were arrested in Baghaichari Upazila, Rangamati district, and were falsely framed as collectors for the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF). The following day, 9 others were arrested under the pretense of being members of the Parbattya Chhattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS). In both operations, those arrested were framed for possessing homemade armaments, electric cables, and knives.

Reports also show that those arrested had gone through torture at the hands of the Bangladesh Army before being formally turned over to the police. According to the Global Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hills Tract rejects the legality of this arrest and debunks claims that those arrested are insurgents. It is believed that this orchestrated operations are done to secure promotions for high-ranking military officials and receive UN peacemaking assignments.

Regardless of affiliation, both the UPDF and PCJSS are not banned organizations and operate in the legal sphere. The PCJSS who has fought for national liberation in the past decades has since returned to legal-parliamentary struggle since the signing of the CHT peace accord.

These attacks however show the lack of sincerity from the Bangladeshi government to genuinely implement the accord, and a clear treachery of Indigenous Peoples confidence and trust. If the government is serious about peace, it must show so through its actions.

The IPMSDL is outraged to learn about this news, and thus demands the immediate release of all those arrested in the June 19 & 20 operations. Likewise we support the call to urgently hold accountable the military officials responsible for the arrest and torture of Indigenous Peoples.

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