Print

Mail

wiki links

Bangladeshi tribes hope United Nations aid will bring peace

Tribespeople in Bangladesh's southeastern hill region are hoping the return of international aid will help bring peace after more than two decades of insurgency.

"Most of us don't know the details of what the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is doing but we all want a lasting peace," said Shusnato Dewan, a shopkeeper at a local market in the hill town of Rangamati.

The UNDP returned to region at the weekend, opening an office in Rangamati from where it will lead a US$5 million program to develop the region and encourage small-business development.

Dewan said the tribespeople desire progress, but at the same time want to keep their individual identity as an ethnic group.

The rugged Chittagong region bordering India and Myanmar in the country's east has been beset by a two-decade-long insurgency which killed 2,500 people after Bengali settlers came into conflict with the hill tribes. A peace pact was signed in 1997 but violence has continued between those who oppose the peace pact and its supporters.

The pro-peace camp belonging to the Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity has clashed with the United People's Democratic Front, which demands full autonomy for the region. The fighting has left at least 231 people dead and scores injured over the past five years, officials said.

In 2001 development work was stopped after three Western construction engineers working in the region were kidnapped. They were later rescued unharmed.

The UNDP assessed the situation last year and said the area was "mostly safe" to start development work.

Local people are hoping the UNDP's return is a sign of a better future.

"I think peace and development will come if the peace process is fully implemented as we know there are problems in putting it into force," said Bikash Chakma, a 29-year-old student.

"The main issue is to solve the issue of getting our land back from Bengali-speaking settlers ... we don't want to fight with them but want the government to take steps along with international support to solve all problems," he said.

Bashi Mohan Chakma, 66, said: "I am not interested about any politics but want peace."

"We and the Bangalis live in harmony and there is no ethnic problem ... the land issues sometimes heats up as thousands of tribespeople are still displaced," he added.

Rangamati is among Bangladesh's three tribal hill districts covering 13,300km2 with a population of 1.2 million.

Western donors have promised millions of dollars in development aid for the region but insist security must be ensured.

Raja Devasish Roy, the king of the main Chakma tribe, said he was looking forward to an era of peace and development in the region.

"But we need to first increase capabilities of the tribespeople and I don't want us to become dependant on foreign aid," he said.

Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Mani Shapan Dewan was upbeat about the region's prospects.
This story has been viewed 1754 times.