A total of 33 eminent citizens of the country, including human rights activists and personnel from the civil society, have expressed deep concern over the postponement of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission meeting, which was scheduled for October 19, 2025, due to threats of sabotage by the "Rangamati Conscious Citizens' Society".
In a statement, they said, “We note with deep anger, concern and surprise that although the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Settlement Commission was formed to resolve land disputes in the three hill districts, this commission has not been able to do anything significant to resolve the disputes in the last 24 years. However, after the amendment of the Hill Land Dispute Settlement Commission Act in 2016, several meetings of the Land Commission were held and several important decisions were taken. Which are awaiting implementation. It is known that more than 26,000 land dispute settlement applications have already been submitted to the Land Dispute Settlement Commission. But no necessary steps have been taken to implement the Land Dispute Settlement Commission to resolve these disputes, and even appropriate manpower and necessary budget for the operation of the commission and other related measures have not been taken. The previous chairmen of the Land Dispute Settlement Commission also did not take effective steps to hold this meeting and the newly appointed chairman, Justice Mohammad Abdul Hafiz, even after knowing all the circumstances, has not been able to support the so-called Citizens Council and the vested interests behind its power. They have set an example of not holding meetings in the same way, being hostage to the conspiracy."
It is noteworthy that there have been allegations for a long time that an influential group within the government has been secretly, sometimes openly, fueling the violent and destructive activities of those opposed to this agreement. With their help, this so-called Citizens' Council has recently threatened to blockade the hilly villages under the banner of Rangamati Conscious Civil Society to cancel the scheduled meeting of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Settlement Commission. And on this pretext, the previously scheduled meeting of the Hilly Land Dispute Settlement Commission on October 19 has been postponed. We strongly protest and condemn the subversive activities of the so-called Citizens' Council against the agreement and the decision to postpone the meeting of the Land Commission. At the same time, we strongly protest the soft and seemingly and practically supportive role of those responsible for law and order and security of the Chittagong Hill Tracts administration towards the opponents of the agreement.
Communal attacks in one hill village after another due to land disputes, Arson, looting, torture of hill women, rape, murder, kidnapping, false cases, harassment of hill people have gradually pushed this township into insecurity and fear. Despite the establishment of one cantonment after another and more than two hundred army camps in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the name of security more than in any other part of the country, the level of insecurity and fear in this region is only increasing day by day. It is as clear as day that without permanently resolving the main problem of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the land dispute and ensuring justice for the criminals, the problem of deprivation of the hill indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts is being ignored day after day with the safety glasses, encouraging and fueling some people or a violent group among the settler hill people to attack and torture them, and by blaming the hill people in any incident and making them victims of shooting, killing, arrest and persecution, the problem is only being complicated. And the level of suffering of the local hill people and ordinary citizens is increasing.
We therefore strongly demand that a high-level independent and impartial investigation be conducted to find out who is repeatedly obstructing the scheduled meetings of the Hill Land Dispute Settlement Commission in the interest of establishing permanent peace in the three hill districts, and why the meetings are being postponed on the same pretext. At the same time, it must be specifically identified whether any influential group within the government was or is behind this and accountability measures must be ensured by bringing the responsible individuals under the law.
It is important to remember that the government or any influential group in the government cannot avoid accountability for any of its actions and undesirable behavior, not only to the hill people but to the entire country. The July 24 uprising has once again strongly reminded everyone of that message.”
The signatories include Sultana Kamal, Human Rights Activist and Founding President of Human Rights Culture Foundation, Khushi Kabir, Coordinator of Nejra Kori, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, TI-B, Shirin Parveen Haque of Nari Pakkha, Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of Manusher Jonya Foundation, Shamsul Huda, Executive Director, ALRD, Pavel Partha, Writer and Researcher, Subrata Chowdhury, Senior Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Tabarak Hossain, Senior Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Advocate Taslima Islam, Chief Executive, BELLA, Advocate Salma Ali, Executive Director, BNWLA, Tasneem Siraj Mahmub, Associate Professor, Department of English, Dhaka University, Dr. Zubaida Nasreen, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Dhaka University, Dr. Khairul Chowdhury, Professor, Dhaka University, Dr. Rezwana Karim Snigdha, Associate Professor, Jahangirnagar University and Dr. Ferdous Azim, Professor, Department of English and Humanities, BRAC University.
