Sajek settler attack: victims holds press conference in Dhaka
chtnews.com
News No. 70/2008, April 27, 2008
Victims of Sajek settler attack held commander of Baghaihat Zone Lt. Col. Sajid Md. Imtiaz and businessman Golam Mowla responsible for it.
Five of the victims who came to Dhaka for the press conference were speaking to the newsmen at Reporters Unity at Segoon Baghicha today, Sunday. (photo attached)
Reading out a written statement Binoy Chakma alleged that the 20 April incident was preplanned. He said prior to the incident settlers from Merung and Kobakhali in Dighinala and Marishya and Longudu in Baghaichari were gathered together, while on 19 April a leader of the so-called Samo Odhikar Andolon, a platform of the illegal settlers, Selim Uddhin Bahari, came to Baghaihat to confer with Lt. Col. Imtiaz.
He further said "at around 9:45 pm approximately 200 settlers first proceeded towards Dane Baibachara. When they saw the Jumma villagers in an organized way, they went back. Afterwards they came along with the army personnel and burned down our houses. They began the attack by torching the house of Nirmol Kanti Chakma. This was soon followed by the burning down of houses in the villages of Purbopara, Retkaba and Gangaram. They even burned down a church and two village schools (Para Kendra) run by Unicef. In Retkaba village, they settlers destroyed a mixed fruit garden developed with financial assistance from UNDP and then put up a signboard of Baghaihat Jeep Employees Association."
Binoy Chakma said the attackers also looted away almost everything that is movable including furniture and utensils. "Even the cows bought with the financial assistance from UNDP were taken away" he alleged.
He said "we tried to resist the attackers. However, when we saw the military we had no other option than to run away."
Background info
The victims narrated many incidents that ultimately culminated in the 20 April attack. They said 90 percent of the Jummas inhabiting the affected areas were previously displaced due to army and settler attacks. Despite continued military repression, they had been living in peace with a small Bengali community who had come to Sajek on business purpose.
They said "since January this year this scenario began to change" as the settlers grabbed lands belonging to the Jummas.
In the written statement, Binoy Chakma cited 13 instances of intimidation, land grabbing and measures of economic strangulation of the Jummas.
Damage
He said besides a church and two Unicef-run schools, a total of 77 Jumma houses were burned down. These includeded 28 houses out of 33 in Purbopara, 11 out of 47 in Gangaram, 5 out of 94 in Retkaba and 33 out of 100 in Dane Baibachara. He said property worth of Taka 15,000,000 was damaged.
Injured
He said that three Jummas were injured in the attack. They are Newton Chakma alias Kalabo, Bijoy Singh Chakma and Ratan Chakma.
Aftermath of the incident
According to the victims, after the incident the military has been putting pressure on the settlers to build houses on the Jummas' land. They said on 22 April, two settler families mounted on a Chander Gari (jeep) to leave Baghaichari; however one Kashem pulled them down and showered them with abusive language. On 23 April, zone commander Imtiaz dropped a group of settlers at Bana Vihar area lying between Dane Baibachara and Retkaba and ordered them to construct houses on burned land. On 24 April, Zone commander Imtiaz held a meeting at his headquarters in which elders from both the communities took part. At the said meeting he warned the Jummas that "if anything happens to the Bengalis in the future, I will kill all of you in brushfire. You have no need to live in this country."
Binoy Chakma said the Jumma villagers were living in fear. "We have to live in constant fear of losing our lands" he wailed.
The culprits
They said commander of Baghaihat zone, Lt. Col. Sajid Md. Imtiaz and Golam Mowla, a businessman in Baghaihat bazaar, were mainly to blame for the attack on Jumma villagers on 20 April. The motive of the attack was to grab the Jumma people's lands after evicting them.
Demands
The victims placed the following demands before the government: 1. adequate compensation to all the Jumma victims and their proper rehabilitation; 2. arrest of Lt. Col. Imtiaz, Golam Mowla and their cohorts and to take legal actions against them; 3. putting an end to intimidation, coercion and torture resorted to by Imtiaz to subdue the Jumma villagers; 4. to stop land grabbing and implantation of settlers in Sajek and to withdraw all the settlers from Sajek area; and 5. to stop attack on religious institutions such as churches and Buddhist temples; return all the grabbed lands belonging to Banani Bana Viahr, to rebuild Bishwa Moitree Bouddha Vihara at its previous site and to provide monetary compensation for the damage caused to the Kuthir (temple) built for the use of Rev. Jogashiddhi Bhikkhu at Gangaram.
The press conference was also attended by Gyanendu Chakma (Retkaba Mukh), Clinton Khisha (Gangaram Mukh), Shanti Bikash Chakma (Dane Baibachara) and Dino Mohan Chakma (Retkaba).
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chtnews.com is an independent and voluntary online news service dedicated to projecting and analyzing the current events in the Chittagong Hill Tracts from the perspective of the Jumma people's struggle for right to self-determination. For further information please contact at: chtnewsonline@gmail.com
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