Bangali Chattra Parishad demands banning of UPDF

chtnews.com
News No. 159/2009, October 21, 2009

The so-called Bangali Chattra Parishad, an ultra-communal settler outfit backed by the military, will hold a rally in Baghaichari, Rangamati tomorrow to demand the banning of the United Peoples’ Democratic Front (UPDF).

The Parishad members have been propagating their programme through loudspeakers since yesterday.

“All activities of the UPDF must be banned”, shouted the announcer. However, he stopped short of providing any ground for the ban.

Commenting on the BCP’s programme a UPDF activist said “UPDF is a democratic organisation which has broadened its support base in the last couple of years, and we know it is this which has made a few people in the army quite jittery.”

He said, “Santu Larma is also making similar demands; on 19 October, at a rally in Rangamati he repeated his demand for banning UPDF. But we don’t care about what he says, but when BCP and his likes make the same demand we have to ponder, because these organisations are proxy of the army. They are merely spokesperson of the military in the CHT.”

Knowledgeable persons admit that that attempts are being made to curb the growing influence of the UPDF is quite evident.

They cited the creation of a terrorist group called CHTNF, denying democratic space to the UPDF, attacks on its rallies and offices, arrest and killing of its leaders and supporters, providing support to the Santu Larma faction of the JSS as some of the measures taken to cut the UPDF to size.

“The overall aim is to sustain the conflict between the UPDF and JSS.” one CHT observer commented.

“But no matter what you do you cannot prop up someone all the time who has lost public confidence; history has proved this fact over and over again.” she added.