CHT Commission, IWGIA condemn violence in CHT

The CHT Commission and International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) have expressed deep concern over the ongoing attacks in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) since 19 September. 

The unrest began following the alleged mob lynching of a Bangali on 18 September. 

In a joint statement on 20 September, the organisations said, "Without any proper investigation,  Bangalis placed the blame on the Jummo community, despite the  officer-in-charge of Khagrachari Police Station stating a different narrative. Using this as a  pretext, Bangalis launched violent attacks on Jummo individuals in Dighinala Upazila,  Khagrachari, and set their properties ablaze." 

Later that evening, Jummo youth took to the streets in the Swanirbhar, Naranghiya, and Upalipara  areas of Khagrachari Sadar, staging a road blockade in protest of the Dighinala attack, resulting in casualties and  multiple injuries, it said.

Media reports confirmed at least three deaths among Jummo individuals in Dighinala and Khagrachari, and the casualty count may rise as some hospitalised victims are  critically injured. 

In protest of these attacks, Jummo youth organised a procession in Rangamati on 20 September. Upon reaching Banarupa Market, live-video footage showed that they  were met with stone-throwing by the Bangali. 

"At the same time, someone from the Banarupa Bazar Jam-e-Masjid used the mosque's loudspeaker to falsely announce that Jummo people were coming to attack the mosque, inciting panic and urging people to resist. This misinformation quickly spread on social media, leading to mass mobilisation of settlers who took to the streets to attack the Jummo youth. A similar pattern was also seen during the attack in Dighinala yesterday, where mosque loudspeakers were used to gather a mob before the violence escalated," the statement reads. 

A youth was killed in the attack in Rangamati, with numerous others injured. Several homes and businesses belonging to Jummo individuals in Banarupa, Champaknagar, and Bijon Soroni have been set on fire. The office of the CHT Regional Council chairman, as well as the office of the Parbatya Chattagram Pahari Chhatra Parishad, have been set on fire, along with vandalism and looting of the Kathaltali Moitri Bihar Buddhist temple. The full extent of the arson attacks is still emerging, it added.

"We urgently call on the interim government to take immediate action to ensure  the safety and protection of the Indigenous peoples in CHT. We demand the formation of a UN-led inquiry committee to investigate the alleged human rights violations, the root causes of the  violence…"