Issues in implementing CHT Peace Accord should be identified, resolved: Bir Bahadur

Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing on Wednesday said any problem in implementing the CHT Peace Accord should be identified and resolved through discussion.

"There'll be no blame and complain in implementing the CHT Peace Accord. We should identify the problem and find ways to resolve the problem as our main purpose is to bring peace," he said while at a meeting at the ministry, marking the 23rd anniversary of the accord.

There is a committee, which is working for the implementation of the Peace Accord. Abul Hasnat Abdullah is the chief of the committee and it is the committee's task to look into the problem and find solution, said Ushwe.

On December 2, 1997, Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) signed the peace deal with the then Awami League government headed by Sheikh Hasina, ending more than two decades of tribal insurgency and bloodletting in the country's three hill districts.

Then Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip Abul Hasnat Abdullah signed the agreement on behalf of the government and Joritindra Bodhipriyo Larma (Santu Larma) on behalf of PCJSS.

The area of Chittagong Hill Tracts is about 13, 295 square kilometers and it is home to 1.6 million people. Different development activities have taken place in the last 10 years, the minister said.

"We've stepped into the 23rd year of the Peace Accord. It has 72 sections and of these, 48 sections were fully implemented while 15 were party completed and the work to implement the rest is underway," Ushwe said.

In 1973, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman directed to form a committee for the overall development of the CHT, he said. "It is Bangabandhu, who was behind introducing five percent quota for the indigenous people," he added.

The 23rd anniversary was observed on Wednesday. Different organisations in the three hill districts have undertaken programmes to observe the day in compliance with health guidelines set by the government.