‘Manush bachao’

Ethnic strife returned to the Chittagong Hill Tracts in late February, for the third time since the 1997 signing of the accord that ended the two-decade-long insurgency in the area. Regardless of who holds power in Dhaka – the Awami League, which signed the accord; the anti-accord Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in power during a similar incident of violence in 2003; or army-backed technocrats, in power during the last incident, in 2008 – peace in the Hill Tracts remains elusive.

The proximate cause of the latest round of violence is a road built in 2007 by the then-army-backed technocrat regime. Paharis (as the ethnic groups of the region are collectively known) had resisted this road for the previous 20 years, as they feared the road would mean more Bengali settlement and displacement of Paharis from the area. In recent years, this exact fear seems to have been materialising. Despite Pahari protests (which resulted in arson attacks against the community in 2008), Bengali settlement had been continuing, and a conflagration had been imminent. In late February, arson attacks by the settlers resulted in the burning of an estimated 434 Pahari homes and 29 Bengali homes in Baghaichhari, and an estimated 58 Pahari homes and 29 Bengali homes in Khagrachhari. There has been no independent investigation into the incidents. While the Bengalis claim the Paharis were responsible for the arson, the latter claim the Bengalis themselves burnt the houses. Either way, two Paharis in Baghaichhari and one Bengali in Khagrachhari were also killed. Meanwhile, this violence is alleged to have all taken place with the army and police as either silent observers or active supporters.