The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) welcomed a delegation representing the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region (CHT) of Bangladesh. The meeting was arranged with the assistance of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO). The members on the delegation were:

• Mr Ushatan Talukder, Member of the Bangladesh National Parliament.
• Mr Mangal Kumar Chakma, Information and Publicity Secretary of Parbatya Chattagram.
• Jana Samhati Samiti, (PCJSS) (in English: United People’s Party of the CHT).

The main points raised during the meeting were as follows:

• The CHT region is home to 800,000 indigenous people, known as the Jumma (the collective name for all indigenous peoples in the region).  Since the 1960s and 1970s, these people have been forced off their lands to make way for reservoirs and hydroelectric schemes.  They have also been the victim of massacres, particularly during the time of military dictatorship.
• The Bangladeshi Government has encouraged settlers to move into the CHT, who are now almost as numerous as the indigenous population. Many feel it is a deliberate policy to undermine the indigenous people, who have in many cases been forced off their land without compensation.
• A peace accord was signed in 1997, including provisions to grant autonomous rule to the region, but this has not yet been implemented.
• The peace accord was also supposed to include demilitarisation of the region; but there are believed to be over 150,000 military personnel currently based there, and over 400 military camps.
• 100,000 people have been internally displaced by the ongoing situation in the region, the majority of whom are living in very poor conditions.
• Foreigners visiting the region are required to ask permission to enter and to speak to indigenous residents, which is only allowed with the military present. The same rules do not apply to foreigners who wish to speak to settlers.
• Islamic militants are taking advantage of the instability in the region and setting up training camps there, using the CHT as a hub for certain activities.  Saudi-funded madrassas are also being set up.
• There are many cases of arbitrary arrest and extrajudicial killings, creating a widespread sense of fear amongst the indigenous population.
• Representatives of the region are now calling for the Government to make public a time frame for the implementation of the peace accord and measures to ensure the protection of indigenous people in the area.

The PHRG will continue to monitor the situation in the CHT region, raising our concerns where possible in the UK Parliament.