Interview "We have no Fascination for Firearms or Armed Struggle" Ahmede Hussain As we know that your party has denounced the "Peace Treaty", as it is known, calling it "insufficient and inadequate". Can you please explain your party's stand on this issue for our readers? Apart from the fact that the Treaty has failed to address the key issues of the CHT people, it has also many other flaws and shortcomings. For example, it lacks an in-built mechanism for implementation. The accord provides for constitution of an implementation committee to be manned by the parties to the Accord themselves. This arrangement has been proved to be ineffective and because of all these shortcomings, the treaty has failed to bring peace in the CHT region. Today, the treaty merely remains on paper. Having said that, we want to make it clear that despite our serious reservations about the Accord, we offered to cooperate with the PCJSS leadership to force the government to implement the accord in full. This is in the greater interest of the CHT people and this is also because we wanted to keep our internal division and strife as low as possible. This has been and still is our policy vis-à-vis the CHT treaty. That is why we have criticised the accord and pointed out its flaws, but we have not stood in the way of its implementation. What is the overall political and human rights situation in the CHT? There are many such incidents of arbitrary arrests and detentions that go unreported in the national newspapers and other media outlets. Other forms of human rights violations such as willful killing, rape, arson, land grabbing and religious persecution are still continuing across the CHT. Apart from these, there is also widespread political repression going on against UPDF and its front organisations. We are not allowed to carry out our peaceful programmes freely. Many a times our rallies and public meetings have been disrupted. Many of our members and supporters have been detained under false charges. At least one hundred of them are still languishing in jails in Chittagong, Khagrachari and Rangamati. Political and civil rights are almost non-existent in the CHT. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have 13 nationalities who speak 10 different languages. What do you think unite them as a group? The right to language is a fundamental right of every human being. How do you think the rights to language and culture of different nationalities in the CHT have been ignored? In a civilised society, a government is expected to take special measures to preserve and promote the cultures and languages of the ethnic minorities. But nothing of this sort happened in Bangladesh. The government has established "Tribal Cultural Institutes" in each of the three hill districts. But their contribution to the promotion of hill people's culture is next to zero. Therefore, the result of this continuous denial of the Jumma people's right to language and culture has been horrendous. Today, one will hardly find a Chakma or Tripura or Marma who can write in his own language. Many have even forgotten that they have a written script of their own. This is today's picture. And if this trend continues, tomorrow they will certainly forget their own distinct identities fulfilling the wishes of the first prime minister of independent Bangladesh. A nation or an ethnic nationality is known by its distinct language, culture and customs. It is the duty of the government to protect, preserve and promote the distinct cultures and customs of different nationalities living in Bangladesh. Now the demand for education in ethnic languages up to primary level has become popular. Even many prominent intellectuals and educationists have voiced their support for this just demand. We hope a nation that had once shed blood to establish its people's right to language will understand the pang of deprivation of this right among the ethnic Jumma nationalities. Do you think the rights of the CHT's ethnic minorities are entwined with the general freedom of the people of the other part of the region? Do you have plans to participate in the general elections? How do you see elections as a way of going to power in general?
But the case of Chittagong Hill Tracts is quite different. In Chittagong Hill Tracts, where even the most basic rights of the people including the right to freedom of association are restricted, elections are usually seen as a means of reaching out to the people. After taking this and other aspects of the CHT situation into consideration, we have decided to take part in the next parliamentary elections. However, there is serious doubt as to whether the elections would be held on time. So far, the caretaker government has failed to create a congenial atmosphere for holding the election in a free, fair and impartial manner. And the 14-party alliance and others have continued their agitation. The situation has become fluid, volatile and explosive. The declaration of election schedule in a hasty and surreptitious manner has complicated the issue all the more. It has pushed the parties on a collision course. Any election held without participation of the major political parties would not be credible. Therefore, if conditions for free, fair and credible elections are not created, UPDF will not participate in such a bogus election. UPDF will respect the general sentiment of the people of the country. It is widely perceived that the Bangali settlers in the CHT, poor as they are, sometimes have been used by a certain quarter of the establishment. What is your party's view on the settler issue? As a party, we think, UPDF has responsibility towards the settlers as well. While we oppose the use of the settlers as a tool of maintaining domination, we support and fight for their just rights. It is the ruling elite, which has deprived them of these rights. They have got the right to be resettled honourably and with means of livelihood in their respective home districts. Until they are resettled in this manner, the government must provide them the basic minimum needs during their stay in the CHT. Many believe that your support in the hills is waning. How would you respond to this? For the last few years have witnessed some bloody clash between members of your party and the Jana Sanghiti Samiti. What can be done to bring this hostility to an end? We still want a negotiated settlement of the conflict. But the policy of the JSS is different. They have adopted a resolution at their party congress to eliminate UPDF. They have adopted the same resolution once again at a conference held in Rangamati a few days back. Not only that, in an interview with a Bengali daily back in 2000, the JSS president virtually ordered his men to lynch UPDF members and supporters. This is unfortunate but when he said this, no one took the trouble of criticising him. The government also remained silent. This kind of behaviour is totally unimaginable in any democratic dispensation. Now, the hostility will come to an end if the JSS leadership comes out of their old shell and change their undemocratic and feudalistic mindset. Alternately, the bloodshed will come to an end if the government takes effective measures to stop the JSS from implementing its programme of eliminating the UPDF. Lots of blood has been spilt in the CHT. We want to see an end to it. The JSS leadership must accept the reality and learn how to respect other people's rights. So far you have professed non-violence; is there any chance of your party taking up arms?
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