Bangladesh to implement peace deal with Buddhist tribals

The government is going to fully implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord which remains shelved for the last seven years during the BNP-Jamaat and caretaker rule.

The accord was signed between Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) and the government on December 2, 1997 ending two decades of bush war in the region.

The government's one of the first steps in this regard would be reforming the CHT Land Commission, said sources in the CHT affairs ministry.

State Minister for CHT affairs Dipangkar Talukder after a meeting at the ministry told newspersons: "The government is going to implement the peace accord soon." He however did not mention any specific date.

The CHT Regional Council was formed in 1999 following the peace accord but no other major initiatives came in accordance with the agreement.

Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma, chairman of the Council and also chief of PCJSS, was present at the meeting.

He demands that the government implement the peace accord for greater interest of the country and appoint Tindigenous people at the CHT development board as per the accord.

He also demands banning United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF), another regional political platform in the region, terming it an outfit against the sentiment of the indigenous people.