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29 May 2006
Mr. Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan MP (a Muslim settler) raised anti-accord motion at the meeting of Parliamentary Standing Committee on CHT. He recommended that the people of the ethnic minority communities should be termed as ‘tribal’ instead of ‘indigenous’. He also made false accusation that the NGOs (Non Government Organizations) working in the CHT region were giving funds to the ‘tribal terrorists’ to purchase firearms in the name of development works. He accused the NGOs of converting the local people to Christian religion in exchange of money adding 80 percent people of the Tripura community, 60 percent of Marma, 40 percent of Chakma and above 90 percent of small other communities have already been converted to Christianity. The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee Mohammed Mosharaf Hossain MP, accepted the allegation against the NGOs and included the issue in the next meeting agenda. However, the Deputy Minister for CHT Affairs Mr. Moni Sawpan Dewan denied the allegations of Wadud Bhuiyan. Some local NGOs in CHT submitted a letter to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee protesting the accusation as baseless and politically motivated.
23 April 2006
Violating the spirit of the CHT Accord, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on CHT Affairs recommended to the government to continue food and monetary aid to the Muslim settlers living in cluster villages in three hill districts. The number of people living in the cluster villages in three hill districts – Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari became double and rose to 50,000 families. Currently government provides 86 Kilogram of rice per family per month. Setting up 58 border outposts in the vast open border areas with neighboring India and Myanmar also came up at the meeting for discussion. Committee members Mohammad Mujibur Rahman, Shahjahan Choudhury, Syed Moyazzem Hossain and Wadud Bhuiyan were present at the meeting. However, the experts on CHT believe that setting up border outposts is inconsistent with the CHT Accord and politically motivated.
Sources:
- Jana Samhati Samiti Report
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