The Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord Implementation Movement has demanded commitment from political parties to implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord. They have also demanded that voters in remote areas of the hills and indigenous people of the plains be guaranteed voting rights in the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections.
The organization made this demand at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in Dhaka on Tuesday morning.
The press conference and question and answer session were moderated by Khairul Islam Chowdhury, joint coordinator of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord Implementation Movement. Zakir Hossain, joint coordinator of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord Implementation Movement, presented the keynote address. Indigenous rights activist Mainthin Pramila, writer and journalist Abu Sayeed Khan, and ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda also spoke.
Zakir Hossain said that since the birth of Bangladesh, the active participation of the country's indigenous and marginalized communities in the democratic system of Bangladesh has not been ensured. The original aspiration of the Liberation War and the inclusive system promised after the July 2024 coup, regardless of race, religion, and caste, is still uncertain.
He also said that due to the non-implementation of the Hill Tracts Accord, indigenous peoples live in weak communication systems, underdeveloped road and water communication systems. Due to the military presence and in many cases the unstable political structure there, and the lack of awareness among the people, they cannot be involved in the decision-making process of the state in various aspects. Even during the census, indigenous people living in marginalized areas are excluded simply because they live in geographically inaccessible areas. Similarly, many indigenous people are excluded from participating in an important policy-making process like the national elections for the same reason. Due to the distance of their place of residence from the polling station, they are not able to exercise their right to vote spontaneously.
He added, “We urge the Election Commission and the relevant administration to relax the rules set by the Election Commission in these areas, keeping in mind the different realities of the indigenous people living in these areas.”
At the press conference, ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda said, “In the hilly regions and plains, indigenous people are harassed while going to the polling stations.
According to the Chief Advisor, if this election is better than the past, then all facilities should be provided to the indigenous people who come to vote from distant areas. I urge them to make the upcoming elections meaningful with the cooperation of the army and to fully and properly implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord. The problem of indigenous people should be seen as a national problem.”
Writer and journalist Abu Saeed Khan said, “There is no opportunity to register regional parties in our election registration process. But it should have been kept. Regional parties are not given the opportunity to run for election in our country. The election registration law needs to be changed here and the hill leaders are interested in this matter. But there is no such opportunity. That opportunity should be given.’
Noting that the problems of the hills and the plains are not the same, he said, ‘It is not possible to look at the hills through the eyes of the plains. The Chittagong Hill Tracts Agreement must be fully and properly implemented by prioritizing the people of the hills. All political parties must give a clear message about the rights of the indigenous people. The development of the country is not possible by keeping all the indigenous people of the country, including the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in the dark and backward. All the indigenous people must be brought into the mainstream of the country. Therefore, their social, economic and political rights must be ensured. It is necessary to form an elected regional council in the hills.’
Mainthin Pramila said, ‘In the sick environment we are in now, I do not know what the condition of indigenous women and indigenous people will be in the future. Except for the agreement implementation movement, no one is talking clearly about the indigenous peoples. No political party has called us to listen to the problems of the indigenous people.’
In his keynote speech, Zakir Hossain, Joint Coordinator of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord Implementation Movement, raised some demands. The demans are;
A. To ensure the exercise of voting rights by indigenous voters, make arrangements for providing food and accommodation around the polling stations. Ensure free movement of all tribal voters going to polling stations in the plains and hills and stop unnecessary harassment.
B. To formulate an action plan for the implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord and implement it quickly and properly. To permanently end military authority and indirect military rule in the hills. To empower the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and the three Hill District Councils appropriately in accordance with the Hill Accord to ensure representative democratization and local governance. To ensure the land rights of internally displaced persons and Jumma refugees returning from India by implementing the ‘Hill Land Dispute Settlement Commission’ for a permanent solution to the hill land problem.
To ensure the participation of the indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the country’s mainstream economic progress and sustainable development programs. To reserve special seats for the indigenous people of the plains in all levels of local government, including the Union Parishad, and to take special steps to improve the living standards of the indigenous people. To form a separate land commission for the indigenous people of the plains.
