chtnews.com
March 26, 2008
Recently, our reporter visited Kapru Para in Bandarban to investigate the impact of outside interaction on the life of Murung nationality, the second largest ethnic group in Bandarban district of Chittagong Hill Tracts. We are releasing the findings in a series of photographic expositions. Please find attached the last of the six-picture series.
Photo 6 of 6: Long Drun Murung: a torture victim
Last year, members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) from Neelgiri camp picked up Long Drun Murung and tortured him mercilessly. No body, except perhaps the BDR men, knows what his crime was. From Neelgiri camp he was sent to Thanchi police station and from there to Bandarban Thana. Later on, the village elders of Kapru Para pleaded with the district administration and got him released.
As a result of the torture, Mr. Long Drun Murung lost his mental balance. He cannot recall what really happened after the arrest, falls into delirium and gets frightened out of his wit when he sees any soldier. The army and BDR often come to visit him to enquire about his physical and mental condition. One wonders whether the BDR is testing any drug on him. His relatives said he was completely healthy - both physically and mentally - before the arrest. They specifically accused Md. Jashim, the camp commander, for the mental illness of Mr. Long.
The Murungs are a simplistic and over credulous people. They do not understand ethnic cleansing, nationalism and politics. Such words are alien to them. But they are quite worried about their future and conscious of the conspiracy to grab their land.
March 26, 2008
Recently, our reporter visited Kapru Para in Bandarban to investigate the impact of outside interaction on the life of Murung nationality, the second largest ethnic group in Bandarban district of Chittagong Hill Tracts. We are releasing the findings in a series of photographic expositions. Please find attached the last of the six-picture series.
Photo 6 of 6: Long Drun Murung: a torture victim
Last year, members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) from Neelgiri camp picked up Long Drun Murung and tortured him mercilessly. No body, except perhaps the BDR men, knows what his crime was. From Neelgiri camp he was sent to Thanchi police station and from there to Bandarban Thana. Later on, the village elders of Kapru Para pleaded with the district administration and got him released.
As a result of the torture, Mr. Long Drun Murung lost his mental balance. He cannot recall what really happened after the arrest, falls into delirium and gets frightened out of his wit when he sees any soldier. The army and BDR often come to visit him to enquire about his physical and mental condition. One wonders whether the BDR is testing any drug on him. His relatives said he was completely healthy - both physically and mentally - before the arrest. They specifically accused Md. Jashim, the camp commander, for the mental illness of Mr. Long.
The Murungs are a simplistic and over credulous people. They do not understand ethnic cleansing, nationalism and politics. Such words are alien to them. But they are quite worried about their future and conscious of the conspiracy to grab their land.
