Bangladesh: MRG condemns renewed violence and hate speech against indigenous peoples
Minority Rights Group is deeply concerned over recent reports of attacks against the indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh, which took place from 18 to 20 September in the districts of Rangamati and Khagrachhari, where the situation is still tense. These are only the most recent incidents of violence in a general context of stigmatization, discrimination and violence against indigenous peoples in the country.
MRG acknowledges the urgent appeal for peace made by the Bangladeshi interim government and the commitment to investigate the reported crimes and bring perpetrators to justice through an ad hoc committee (temporary legal body) to be established. We call on the interim government to take immediate action to ensure the safety and protection of the indigenous peoples in the CHT, and that the perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to justice.
Given that the police and other general administrative functions under the new government are not yet fully operational in the country, the envisioned investigative committee should be led by the United Nations as a guarantee of independence and to rebuild trust between parties. For the same reasons and considering its alleged responsibility in the human rights violations in question, we ask that the Bangladeshi military not to be involved in the investigations.
We note that the situation of the indigenous peoples of the CHT cannot be resolved without serious commitment and actions to recognize the legal status of Bangladesh’s indigenous peoples and protect their rights, including through the full implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord. Therefore, we also call upon the interim government of Bangladesh to comply with the provisions of international legal standards protecting indigenous peoples’ rights; to respect and protect the multicultural heritage of the CHT and of Bangladesh as a whole; and to take measures to fully implement the provisions of the CHT Peace Accord.
According to local sources, on 18 September, then-unverified reports of the death of a Bengali youth triggered widespread expressions of hate and mass mobilization of Bengali settlers against the indigenous community in Khagrachhari town. On the following day, indigenous-owned properties, such as homes, shops and vehicles, were set on fire in Dighinala, and indigenous families had to flee from the area and take shelter in the forest. Peaceful demonstrations by CHT communities were violently suppressed by the military.
On Friday 20 September, the conflict and tension spread to other parts of Khagrachhari district and to Rangamati Sadar. A protest organized by CHT students and youth was met with violence by settlers. Again, properties were burnt, looted and vandalized, including the office of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and a Buddhist temple situated in the Kathaltoli neighbourhood of Rangamati Sadar.
According to the Kapaeeng Foundation, this wave of indiscriminate attacks by settlers and the intervention of the military resulted in four indigenous persons being killed and over eighty injured over the three days.
The attacks by settlers were mostly fuelled by provocative speeches disseminating false accusations against the indigenous community were broadcast through the loudspeakers of local mosques, amplifying patterns of hate speech circulating simultaneously on social media.
‘Hate speech in social media is extreme and generates mistrust between the Bengali and indigenous communities. We, indigenous peoples, feel insecure and cannot trust the army as they all belong to the Bengali community and we have evidence that they are backing the Bengali mobilisations’, says a local source who prefers to remain anonymous.
Similar incidents of violence and discrimination against religious minorities were reported in the context of the riots in the aftermath of the resignation of the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August.
