united Jumma

United Jumma International
P.O Box 6055 Marrickville South
Marrickville 2204 NSW
Australia
Phone:+61-432014821
E mail: - bishwa_jit2@hotmail.com

4th Sep’2007
Sydney , Australia

[Appeal to the International Community, Humanitarians, Human Rights Activists and Peace Loving People for Protection of Jumma indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs), Bangladesh.]

To
Mr. John Howard
Hon’ble Prime Minister of Australia
Kirribilli House, Kirribilli
NSW 2061
Australia

Subject: An Appeal to Stop Bangladesh Government to Forcible land grabbing belongs to Jumma Indigenous People in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs), Bangladesh.

Dear Sir / Madam,

The United Jumma International Network (UJIN), living in Australia are deeply concerned over the continuous land grabbing and systematic human rights violations against the Indigenous Jumma Nation in CHT are continued even after the CHT Peace Accord in 1997.

The violation of Human rights including custodial death, falsified case and detention, rape, unnoticed arrest, etc, are reportedly widespread in the recent days. To express deep concern after receiving harrowing news about grabbing vested land of the Jumma indigenous people and resume of Bengali Muslim settlement and installment of new Military camp throughout Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh.

These are happening by taking full advantage of ongoing state of emergency of Bangladesh where any kind of public gathering, meeting, demonstration and all kind of opposition activities are strictly prohibited since the present interim government came into power early in this year. The military authority and the law enforcing agency given sole power to kill and torture anybody who oppose the government, even it is only on the basic of suspicion. As press censorship are imposed very little information are going out of Chittagong Hill Tracts.

United Jumma International Network (UJIN), writing on behalf of the CHTs minority Jumma Buddhist, Christian and Hindu peoples to express deep concern over pathetic situation appear to be planned and systematic movement of the settlers and Bangladeshi military to grab lands belonging to the Jumma indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), especially in Dighinala Upazilla under Khagrachari district.

We have learnt from various sources that during the last 2-3 months, at least 222.38 acres of plough as well as hilly land have been taken away by force in Dighinala Upazilla under Khagrachari district. Of these, 42 acres have been grabbed in Rengkarjya Mouza No. 28 under Merung, 149.18 acres in Choto Merung Mouza No. 29, 5.2 acres in Bara Merung Mouza No. 30 and 26 acres belonging to Boalkhali Buddha Vihara and Orphanage under Dighinala Thana.

To highlight the recent land grabbing pattern, we take the liberty of citing a few cases below:

a. Unsolicited arbitration by Bangladesh army: gross injustice
On 19 July 2007, Betchari sub-zone commander Major Qamrul Hassan (37 Bengal, 4 Bir) in Bara Merung called an unsolicited arbitration meeting in his camp and in a whimsical verbal judgment gave away 13 Kani (5.2 acres) of land belonging to three Jumma villagers to other three settler families namely Sirajul Islam, his brother Nazrul Islam s/o Kashem Ali and Md. Yunus s/o Abdul Mannan of Rashik Nagar village.

Of the 13 Kanis, 5 kanis each belongs to Sadhan Chakma s/o Bandara Chakma and Lalit Kumar Chakma s/o Ranga Mua Chakma, and 3 kanis to Bilati Chakma s/o Megh Raj Chakma.

The Jumma Indigenous had been in the possession of these lands since the time of Pakistan and they did have valid documents pertaining to these lands and showed them during the so-called arbitration meeting. On the other hand, the Bengali Muslim settlers, who came to the area in the 1980s under Bangladesh government-sponsored transmigration program, have failed to produce any valid papers. Yet, the commander assuming the roles of the judge, the jury and the land surveyor at one and the same time gave his judgment in favor of the Muslim settlers.

b. Unsolicited arbitration: Supriya Chakma's land taken away:-
Mrs. Supriya Chakma is the head teacher of Boradam Government Primary School in Dighinala. She owns 3.2 acres of plough land in Betchatri of Merung. In July a so-called arbitration committee formed by Dighinala zone commander Major Qamrul Hassan gave her land to a settler woman, despite the fact that she had valid documents pertaining to the said land.

c. Old man's land taken away:-
On 2 August, 2007 illegal settlers Md. Yunus s/o Mannan, Md. Nazrul and his brother Sirajul took away two acres of first class paddy land from sixty-years-old Buddha Moni Chakma s/o late Fogira Chakma of Tara Charan Karbari Para village in Moddyo Betchari under Merung. Betchari camp commander allegedly backed the settlers. Mr. Chakma has valid documents pertaining to his land.

The said commander also reportedly called Mr. Buddha Moni Chakma to his camp and forced him to sign a written pledge to the effect that he would not make attempt to reclaim his land, that he would acknowledge that his land does not fall within the perimeter of the disputed land but may lie somewhere else and that he would not create "troubles" for the settlers in their enjoyment of his land.

d. Fresh attempt at expansion of Bengali Muslim settlement in Sadhana Tila, Babuchara:-
According to sources, the army is making desperate attempt to settle 812 Bengali Muslim families on approximately 300 acres of land in Sadhana Tila (a Buddhist meditation center) under Babuchara in Dighinala Upazilla of Khagrachari district. The settlers have begun clearing the land since 13 August. The area houses a Buddhist temple and a sizable Jumma settlement. If the plan is implemented, the temple will be destroyed, many Jummas will be evicted and dispute over land will increase dramatically.

The zone commander of Dighinala Major Qamrul Hassan has reportedly announced an incentive grant of Taka 50,000 for each Bengali Muslim settler family who will be willing to settle there, in addition to Taka 1,000 as monthly allowance. He has also threatened to cancel the ration cards of those settlers who would refuse to resettle in Sadhana Tila.

Mr. Hassan has been reportedly putting continuous pressure on the headman of Baghaichari Mouza No. 50 Mr. Sattyendriyo Chakma, Union Council chairman Paritosh Chakma and other local elders to agree to his settlement plan. On 15 August 2007, he visited Sadhana Tila to personally assess the settlement plan.

We have also learnt that illegal land grabbing and settlement of non-resident plain settlers have continued in other parts of the CHT, including Maischari, Guimara, Matiranga, Manikchari and Panchari in Khagrachari and many parts of Bandarban district. In Bandarban hundreds of thousands of acres of land have been taken away under various pretexts.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeastern corner of Bangladesh is home to eleven ethnic nationalities who have been living there for centuries. They have their own customs governing land use and management system which is often referred to as traditional land rights by which lands are owned by the whole community. The successive governments of Bangladesh have refused to acknowledge this right of the Jumma people and settled under a state-sponsored transmigration program approximately 400,000 Bengali people on the lands of the Jumma indigenous people. This has had a devastating impact on the Jumma societies and became a perennial source of tension and conflict in CHT.

The government authorities of Bangladesh often cite CHT's low population density to justify its population transfer policy. However, studies showed that the argument advanced by the proponents of this policy that the CHT had been lying vacant is a myth. Suffice it to say that after the inundation of 54 thousand acres of first class cultivable land due to the construction of Kaptai dam in the 1960s, an estimated 40,000 Jummas had to cross over to India because there had not been enough land for their rehabilitation in CHT.

Therefore, UJIN appeal to the interim caretaker government of Bangladesh to take bold steps to reverse the policy that the partisan governments of the past had pursued with regard to the CHT and acknowledge and respect the traditional land rights of the Jumma people.

On behalf of UJIN, we seek your sympathetic support to prevent these inhumanities on the indigenous people in Bangladesh. Hereby, we are making an appeal for immediate implementation of the following demands as a lasting solution of the inhuman problems in CHTs. We also urge to the Bangladesh interim caretaker government to take the following measures in the interest of the people of the CHT:

• To stop Military atrocities and human rights abuses on indigenous people in CHTs.

• To immediately stop illegal land grabbing in CHT including Merung, Boalkhali of Khagrachari and various parts of Bandarban and return the illegally occupied lands to their rightful owners;

• To cancel the plan to resettle illegal Bengali Muslim settlers in Sadhana Tila in Babuchara under Dighinala Thana of Khagrachari district;

• Demilitarize in the CHT Region and withdrawl all “temporary para –military camps” and de facto military rule, as per as Peace Accord;

• To take legal actions against those army officers and settlers who would be found guilty of land grabbing and inciting communal tension;

• To stop all kinds of repression and human rights violations in CHT;

• To abolish the so-called Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) which is responsible for numerous cases of custodial deaths and other human rights violations.

• Appointment of indigenous people in all posts under the CHT local government system.

• Establishment of international Human Rights Camp in CHTs.

• Constitutional assurance for the future safeguard of indigenous people and non-repetition.

• Implement the CHT Peace Accord 1997 fully and properly

Yours Sincerely,

Bishwa Jit Chakma

United Jumma International Network

CC:
1. Ambassador, Embassy of USA, Australia
2. High Commissioner, British High Commissioner, Australia
3. Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland, Australia
4. High Commissioner, New Zealand High Commission, Australia
5. Ambassador, Embassy of the Netherland, Australia
6. Ambassador, Embassy of France, Australia
7. High Commissioner, High Commission of Canada, Australia
8. Chairman, Australia Human Rights Council, Australia
9. High Commission of Bangladesh
10. Interim Care Taker Government of Bangladesh
11. Jumma People Network UK
12. International Work Group for Indigenous Affair, Denmark
13. High Commissioner of Human Right, Switzerland
14. President of Jumma Net , Japan
15. Amnesty International, USA
16. Prime Minister of Australia
17. Foreign Minister of Australia

Endorsed by the following Individuals:

Sasana Jyoti Chakma (Australia)
Sachin Marma (Australia)
Sagar Chakma (Australia)
Suman (Australia)
Arun Jit Chakma (Australia)
Praj Chakma (Australia)
Rahul Tripura (Australia)
Raja Lakhi Kisa (Australia)
Juwantar Talukdar (Australia)
Michel Chakma (Australia)
Surjyo Kr Chakma (Australia)
Satya Devi (Australia)
Sukhada Chakma (Australia)
Allo bi Chakma (Australia)
Shanti bala (Australia)
Chandra Mukhi Chakma (Australia)
Animesh Garu (Australia)
Suko Moy Tripura (Australia)
Ganeshwar Marma (Australia)
Devotee Chakma (India)
Lakhin Tripura (India)
Mahanama (India)
Mong Sing Marma (Australia)
Ranjit Tanchangya
Lakmi Sharma (India)
Arachchilage Bandara (Sri Lanka)
Priyangika (Sri Lanka)
W. Ananda (Sri Lanka)
Pradipa (Sri Lanka)
Nalaka (Sri Lanka)
Anurudho (France)
Dipavansa (France)
Satya Jit Chakma
Dhamma Jyoti Chakma
Bhante Anicha
Gulo Chakma
Priyo Jyoti (Delhi)
Dayal Chandra Chakma (Agartala, India)
Bijoy Chakma (India)
Samiran Chakma
Sushma Wagh (Mumbai)
Andy (Thailand)
Pitada (Thailand)
Suphina (Thailand)
Goh Wo (Malaysia)
Alex Chong (Malaysia)
Wo Jin Sunim (Korea)
Vajira (Singapore)
Vanita (Singapore)
Suvarna Ratna (Cambodia)
Ting Zhing Ping (Taiwan)
Ari Yamurai (Japan)
Gyana Vangsha (UK)
Upananda (Canada)
Sunanda (Canada)
Saccavadi (USA)
Sacittta (USA)

united Jumma

Thursday, June 5, 2008

An Appeal to Austrlian PM to stop Bangladesh Government to Forcible Land grabbing

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