On 26 August 2003; Bangladesh army in league with Muslim settlers attacked the indigenous Buddhist people in Mahalchari. Bangladesh army and Muslim settlers set fire on more than 370 indigenous Buddhist houses. An indigenous Chakma man and an indigenous Chakma infant (8 months) were killed. More than 1000 indigenous Buddhist people were rendered homeless. Lemucharipara Buddhist Temple and Babupara Buddhist Temple were burnt down. Lord Buddha's images were demolished. Bangladesh army and Muslim settlers raped 10 indigenous Chakma women.

VDP attempt to raid an indigenous Buddhist village in Kaukhali

On 24 Dec l994 at night, Village Defence Police (VDP) of Nailyachari Muslim settlement deliberately opened fire many rounds in Kaukhali, Rangamati.

Then VDP and Muslim settlers equipped with rifles, big knives, spears and so forth ran to a nearby Chakma Buddhist village at Choto Dulu. The VDP and Muslim settlers held the Chakma villagers responsible for the attack on Nailyachari settlement by a group of Shanti Bahini. They accused the Chakma villagers of helping the Shanti Bahini to escape through Choto Dulu after the attack.

But the Chakma villagers emphatically denied all those false and fabricated allegations and accused the VDP and Muslim settlers of plotting an excuse for raiding the Chakma village. Perhaps, the moral courage of the Chakma villagers saved them from being savaged by the VDP and Muslim settlers this time.

India was partitioned on the basis of religion in 1947. 98.5% of the CHT population was non-Muslim during the partition. The indigenous people of CHT opted to join either India or Burma. But Muslim League conspired with the Boundary Commission and illegally annexed CHT with East Pakistan in violation of the principle of partition. Successive Bangladesh governments have been sponsoring Muslim settlers from plain land to dilute the indigenous people of CHT.

Bangladesh army's role in CHT is to protect the Muslim settlers and carry out massacre, land grab, rape, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing against indigenous Buddhist, Hindu and Animist people in CHT.

Bangladesh army restricts access to Chittagong Hill Tracts to foreign media and tourists. According to IWGIA, Bangladesh army and DGFI train and harbour Islamic extremists in CHT to launch terrorist attack against Myanmar.

Sources: