Sunday, February 21, 2010

A people scorned

http://www.newagebd.com/2010/feb/19/feb19/xtra_inner2.html

Khamin investigates the recent alleged attacks on Santu Larma and
other CHT leaders on January 27

Tri-Ratna Buddha Bihar point
of Maichchhari upazila where Larma's
convoy was attacked

Around 8:30 am on January 27, Santu Larma, the president of Parbatya
Chhattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS), Chakma circle chief Raja
Debashish Roy and Nikhil Kumar Chakma, chairman of Rangamati District
Council, were separately on their way to attend a Chittagong Hill
Tract (CHT) Land commission meeting. They were supposed to meet the
PCJSS vice president, Laxmi Prasad Chakma, to discuss the issues of
the Task Force for Indian Repatriated Tribal Refugees and Internally
Displaced People at the circuit house.

According to the victims, during their trip from Rangamati to
Khagrachhari, they were all attacked at different spots. ‘Every thing
was going well when sometime around 9:30am and 10:00am we faced the
first attack at the Betchhari point,’ said Santu Larma to Xtra.

According to Larma, he was attacked at three different points by
the activists of the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF). On the
other hand, members of the UPDF have already denied the allegations
while claiming that the whole incident was possibly instigated by a
faction of the PCJSS, who are against Larma.

The UPDF claimed, Larma’s PCJSS, although being in good terms with
the present government, has failed to secure the rights of ethnic
minorities in the CHT like settling the land disputes, recognition of
ethnic minorities in the constitution, military rule and settlers
migration in the CHT.

The incident has once again highlighted the delicate situation that
currently prevails at the CHT area following the much-discussed army
pullout.

‘Bricks and pieces of trees were hurled at our motorcade,’ Santu
told Xtra, later on. ‘However, due to the speed of the vehicle, we
overcame the threat,’ he added.

Santu also claimed to have faced attacks at the Lembochhari and
Maichchhari upazila under Khagrachhari.

‘The third attack occurred at Tri-Ratna Buddha Bihar point of
Maichchhari upazila and this was more dangerous than the other two,’
claimed Larma. ‘Stones, bricks, shoes and pieces of logs were thrown
at the motorcade,’ he added.

Larma’s gunman, Tarjen Khisa, fired three rounds after the
miscreants threw stones at the convoy.

Soon after reaching the Khagrachari circuit house, around 11:00am,
Larma informed local reporters about the attack and claimed that such
incidents would not have occurred had the government provided him
proper security.

‘The UPDF definitely attacked us as the group has been at it for
the past 12 years,’ he told Xtra later while demanding that the
government ban the party.

However, UPDF waived away the allegations. ‘It is a funny
allegation. Betchhari to Lembochhari, through which Larma travelled,
is a very desolate place where anyone could have harmed him, but
nobody did. Instead, the place he claims he was attacked in is
actually a marketplace,’ said Ujjal Smriti Chakma, a central committee
member of UPDF and a convenor of Khagrachhari district.

‘He is giving the incident a political colour as we are the only
political party that has positive support from all levels of the CHT
public,’ he went on.

‘The media covered the news based on Larma’s speech. They should
have visited the spots where the alleged attacks took place and talked
to the residents to find the truth,’ he suggested.

On the other hand, PCJSS sources reasoned that UPDF is an
undemocratic and terrorist outfit in the CHT.

‘They are against the CHT peace accord that was signed on December
2, 1997,’ said Larma. As such, according to the PCJSS, the UPDF do not
want peace in the CHT.

The UPDF was established on December 3 in 1997 while burning the
CHT peace accord at Raju Chattar in front of the TSC at the Dhaka
University (DU) campus. Later, on December 25, 1998 the UPDF was
established politically to secure the rights of ethnic minorities in
CHT, they claim.

UPDF’s reasons that the peace accord is not a legally binding
document and it also contradicts the constitution. UPDF had pointed
out that in the constitution, only the district council has the sole
authority and the regional council, formed through the peace accord,
is not even recognised.

‘We are not against the CHT peace accord; we just refuse the accord
due to its illegality,’ said Smriti Chakma. ‘The accord is a deed that
is dependent on the president’s mercy and he can dismiss the accord as
it has no legal validity,’ he explained.

He even pointed out that the accord had not passed through
parliament and was not voted upon. ‘Then how is it legal?’ he asked.

Smriti provided a different probable scenario. ‘The attack was
probably carried out by a faction of PCJSS who are against Larma,’ he
speculated.

He explained that the region from Lembochhari to Maichchhari is
highly under the influence of this splinter faction of PCJSS. ‘Local
residents of Maichchhari willingly attend their demonstrations and
rallies due to their dissatisfaction with Larma,’ he added.

But Santu Larma denied the allegation. ‘PCJSS is not divided into
two groups and there are no disagreements in our ranks, ever,’ said
Larma.

However, according to local sources, over the past two years,
during the reign of the military-backed caretaker government, PCJSS
did split into two groups. One was Larma’s PCJSS and the other was a
reformist group that criticised Larma for his autocratic
decision-making style.

Chandra Shekhar Chakma had first criticised Larma’ activities
openly by distributing leaflets among the locals. There was an
assassination attempt on him for which the reformists pointed their
fingers towards Santu Larma.

However, although the bullet did not kill him, Chandra Shekhar died
later in the year from a stroke. He had earlier been elected twice as
general secretary of the PCJSS.

This reporter visited the three spots where the alleged attacks had
taken place. However, nobody could say for certain the spots where
Larma’s motorcade was attacked.

According to Larma, the attack in Maichchhari was the most notable
while the other two attacks in Betchhari and Lembochhari were not very
serious.

However, most locals at Lembochhari Bazar denied any such incident.
‘No, nothing like this ever occurred in this area and the media
basically published fake news,’ said Kali Ratan Talukder, a shopkeeper
at Lembochhari Bazar.

Local people claimed that there has been a massive uprising against
Larma’s activities in CHT over the years. The residents at Maichchhari
village had actually organised a human chain to protest against
Larma’s activities on that day.

The villagers pointed out that Larma has done little to solve the
problems they have been facing with Bengali settlers grabbing their
lands. ‘We tried to draw Larma’s attention a number of times so that
he solves these problems,’ said Ani Chakma of Maichchhari.

‘However, he is busy with his personal life and has no headache
over our problems! How was the peace accord implemented when our lands
were never returned?’ he questioned.

‘Around 8:00am on January 27, we heard that only Santu Larma was
coming to Khagrachhari via the road to attend the land commission
meeting,’ said Konika Chakma, a resident of Maichchhari Bazar. ‘As
soon as we heard this, around 80 villagers began to make festoons,
posters and shoe wreaths to grab his attention,’ she described.

‘Our intention, through the human chain, was to show him his
failure at solving our problems,’ said Dipak Chakma, a day-labour at
Maichchhari. ‘We want peace and also our lands that were grabbed by
the Bengali settlers in this village,’ he added.

According to these locals, they never really planned any attack.
‘Our human chain stood by the road while chanting the slogans that we
do not want Larma and do not want him to come to Khagrachhari,’ said a
villager.

However, some of these demonstrators got carried away and threw
stones and pieces of wood at the motorcade, according to Konika. ‘We
were not influenced by the UPDF or any other political parties,’ said
Gulapi Chakma, another resident of Maichchhari Bazar.

While UPDF and a faction of PCJSS have been blamed for the attack,
local people also suspected that a third party, probably influenced
the demonstration.

‘We should keep in mind that there is a third party that does not
want the implementation of the peace accord in the CHT,’ said Nilotpal
Khisa, a lecturer of Panchari College and a resident of Maichchhari.
‘These people could very well be those who have been active against
the Peace accord since its signing,’ he added, alluding to a third
force who are allegedly linked to BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

However, Larma’s own party men had a different take on the alleged
incident. ‘Larma is the kind of man who always wants to be in the
media’s spotlight,’ said Rupayan Dewan, a member of PCJSS, when asked
about the incident. ‘He is efficient at creating situations through
which he will create a stir leading to headlines in the media,’ he
added.

‘Actually, his status is falling every day in the CHT due to his
involvement in various immoral and selfish activities. His activities
have been questioned by many PCJSS committee members and dedicated
PCJSS leaders including Shaktiman Chakma, Shudha Shindhu Chakma,
Tatindra Lal Talukder (Major Pale Babu), Gaoutam Kumer Chakma (former
vice chairman of PCJSS),’ he added.

He also pointed out that the National council of PCJSS expired on
March 3 in 2009. ‘However, Larma is not taking any initiative to call
a council,’ he informed.

‘Larma is an autocratic person and is operating according to his
own will. He does not follow the organisational rules of PCJSS and
this is creating dissatisfaction amongst the other congress members,’
he said.

On February 3, a high powered investigation team, headed by ASP
Shakila Sultana of the Khagrachhari circle, came to investigate the
incident. ‘We have not found any clues yet about the incident,’ said
ASP Sultana to the press.

She pointed out that there is evidence that some unknown people had
thrown stones from the right side of Larma’s motorcade thus breaking
the glasses on the right side of his vehicle. ‘He probably injured a
finger on his right hand through the broken glass,’ she speculated.

Mohalchhari’s acting office commissioner, Abdul Mannan Khan, also
claimed that he did not find any clues and was unsure about UPDF’s
involvement in the attack.

‘I think a particular group, who does not want the peace accord to
be implemented in the CHT, is behind this,’ said Delwar Hossain, a
timber trader at Maichchhari. ‘UPDF does not want the implementation
of the peace accord and have probably done this in connivance with the
BNP-Jamaat alliance,’ he said.

New Age, Xtra, February 19, 2010