chtnews.com
News No. 160/2009, October 21, 2009
A group of torture victims have demanded that the Laxmichari zone commander Lt. Col. Shariful Islam is removed and punished for creating unrest and torturing innocent people indiscriminately. (photo attached)
They made the demand at a press conference held at Reporters Unity in Dhaka today. Of the scores of people who were tortured at the hands of Lt. Col. Sharif, seven Jummas and two Bengalees came to Dhaka to speak of their sufferings to the journalists.
In a written statement read out by Pai Prue Sain Marma they said “We have been tortured at various points of times at the hands of Laxmicahri zone commander Lt. Col. Shariful Islam for no faults of ours.”
“We had to flee our homes and go into hiding in fear of further torture.” they said.
One of the torture victims, Al Amin (20) [photo attached] said “On 10 September, when I was returning from Khagrachari I was halted by army personnel who were in wait for me in two pick-up vans near the police barrack at Jaliapara.
“They forced me get off my Honda bike and slapped me in my face repeatedly. 10 – 15 minutes later when CO Sharif came I was blindfolded with a piece of black cloth and boarded an army van.
“I was led into a deep jungle and tortured. Mr. Sharif asked where UPDF men live. He also asked, ‘Where is the UPDF man that you carried on your bike?’”
Al Amin said that he was made to dig his own grave.
“Mr. Sharif kicked me into the grave and buried me up to my neck, and then asked the same questions about the UPDF man.” he added.
When he gave the same answer, Sharif lifted him from the grave and ordered his solders to beat him again.
“The soldiers beat me with sticks and rifle butts” he said.
Then the army men took Al Amin to a store house made of mud at Hatimura where a group of Pahari and Bengali people attacked him and snatched away Taka 1,000 from him, he alleged.
The next morning he was taken to Manikchari camp and was interrogated one more time. They army put a pistol in his hand and then photographed him and threatened him to file false cases against him.
Before releasing him, the army broke the headlight and signal light of his bike and scratched the petrol tank with bricks.
“Then they asked me to tell the people that the bike was broken when the terrorists attacked me,” he said.
Al Amin’s father Abul Kashem (45) said he was taken to the army camp on 25 September and tortured.
He said Sharif had ordered him to produce his son Al Amin before him by the evening of that day.
He said both he and his son had to flee their home in Laxmichari in fear of further torture.
Similar stories were also shared by Ratan Bindu Chakma (32), Pai Prue Sain Marma (32), New Hla Prue Marma alias Ning Hla Prue (37), Aungsa Prue Marma (25), Barun Bikash Chakma, Mong Sajai Marma (21) and Rumi Chakma (20).
On 17 October, six elected public representatives from Laxmichari including Upazila chairman Mr Remrachai Chowdhury also held a press conference in Dhaka and demanded that Lt. Col. Sharif and OC Faridul Alam be removed and punished.
At both the press conferences, Sharif and Alam were accused of fomenting unrest and whipping up communal sentiment among the settlers.
