Sajek investigative team demands judicial probe

chtnews.com
News No. 74/2008, May 2, 2008

A team of progressive political and student leaders, university teachers and journalists at a press conference in Dhaka today called for the government to form a judicial committee to probe the Sajek incident and publish the enquiry report within six days.

They made this demand after a restricted visit to the place of occurrence at Sajek on 27 April.

Held at Reporter's Unity, the press conference was attended by all but those team members who joined the team in Khagrachari.

The press conference was presided over by Ms Mosrefa Mishu, convenor of Biplobi Okyo Front, while Mr. Manos Chowdhury, teacher of Anthropology Department at Jahangirnagar University, read out a written statement.

They said the army blocked them at Baghaihat zone before reaching the place of occurrence on 27 April. "After writing down all our names and identities, checking and listing each and every bag we were carrying with us and then reporting it to the camp authority, we were taken inside the camp complying with the order of Second-in-Command Major Kabir" Manos said.

He further said the team members were taken to the place of occurrence in three army vehicles and brought back after 20 minutes. He said: "We noticed burned houses on either side of the road from Baghaihat bazaar on ward. The area looked desolate as if it were a cremation ground. One of the victims, Buddhi Ranjan Chakma, came up to us, hugged our team leader Moshrefa Mishu and then burst into tears in front of the army and all other team members accusing the Bengali settlers for the 20 April arson attack. At that moment Major Kabir swiftly changed the topic and deprived us of the chance to speak to Buddhi Ranjan Chakma"

In the written statement Manos narrated how another Jumma victim came up to them with fear writ large on his face and whispered into their ears that they (Jummas) were not allowed to say anything about the incident. "We also knew from him that the settlers have been kept under watch of the army at the local bazaar (market place), while the Jummas have taken shelter in a Buddhist temple, in nearby jungles and in the house of their relatives." he added.

He said the team members were informed that after the imposition of the state of emergency on 11 January 2007, the Bengalis continued to build houses after grabbing Jumma people's lands. "This has been verified later on when we visited other areas." he said.

Manos said although they could not interact with the victims on the spot, subsequently they heard the victims' accounts of the incident of that day. The statement quoted a victim as saying: "In January last settlers led by Bengali leader Golam Mowla occupied my house. We did not get the opportunity to speak at the meeting at our council office. When Raja (Devashish Roy) came, we were threatened not to speak to him. It was a humid night on 20 April. I was sitting outside of my house. All on a sudden I heard some Bengali people shouting 'Narayek Takbir Allahu Akbar'. Then I saw fire at some distance from my house. The Jummas were shouting 'Ujo Ujo (advance). At that time I saw an army lorry. By that time my house and the adjacent houses began to blaze. While our houses were on fire, the settlers were busy looting."

The team members also demanded that the government must open up the Chittagong Hill Tracts region to the mass media, must publish a white paper on all cases of genocide, rape and torture committed in the past in CHT and must put an end to grabbing of hill people's land, to repression and torture.

Besides Moshrefa Mishu and Manos Chowdhury, team members also included Udisha Islam (journalist); Ricoh Chakma, president, Hill Students Council; Monjurul Ahsan, coordinator, Sangskritir Naya Setu; Md. Arifuzzaman, member, Sangskritir Naya Setu; Nurur Rahman, convenor, Biplobi Chattra Jubo Andolon; Saifuddin Sohel, organiser, Biplobi Chattra Jubo Andolon, Chittagong Unit; Sohan, Garments Workers Unity Forum; Nepali Chakma, Hill Women's Federation; Rina Dewan, organising secretary, HWF; Shahadat Hossain, Jatiyo Biplobi Front; Ashik Akbar, poet and little magazine writer; and Nisha Chakma, student, Khagrachari.