Land grabbing is the main reason for the arson attack this Victory Day on homes, shops and a temple belonging to non-Bangalis in Naniarchar upazilla in Rangamati, residents of the area told the Dhaka Tribune.
They said most attacks on minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) had been carried out in connection with the encroachment of land by Bangali settlers in the region.
Those affected by the attack in Naniarchar’s Suridas Para said they believed the attack took place in retaliation for the destruction of a five acre pineapple farm in the Chouddo Mile area.
Victims of the attack denied involvement in the destruction of the pineapple farm and said references to the farm attack was just a pretext to evict them from their land.
They said the incident was another “a step towards the expansion of Bangali settlers’ territory.”
Ethnic Bangali residents of the area, army officials and government officials could not confirm who destroyed the farm on the night of December 15.
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samity (PCJSS) and the ethnic Bangali residents of the area together blamed the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), the anti-peace accord party, for vandalising the pineapple farm which incited the torching of houses and shops of indigenous people.
UPDF representative Bablu Chakma, who is also the Rangamati district president of Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP), denied the allegation.
“There is no proof that the UPDF carried out the vandalism. They all put blame on the organisation as we are working for the struggling people of the country as well as the indigenous people,” he said.
Bablu claimed such incidents could not take place without the assistance of the government and the army.
Fifty-four houses and seven shops belonging to indigenous people were torched following the destruction of the pineapple farm. The Karuna Buddha Bihar, a Buddhist temple, was also vandalised, some of its statuary and cash looted, and its monks assaulted.
The arson attack left hundreds homeless in the biting cold of winter.
Pineapple farm feud
Both indigenous people and Bangali settlers claim the pineapple farm as their rightful property.
Government officials declined to comment on the matter saying they could not speak on the issue “for the sake of the investigation.”
Ward 3 member of Barigat Union, Ananda Chakma, said the farm consisted of third-class hilly land.
“The owner is Nishi Kumar Chakma. A year ago, these Bangalis came to cultivate the land and we protested. We had to step back because the settlers were supported by the army,” Ananda said.
Nishi Kumar’s grandson, Rekhon Chakma, said: “We have been cultivating this land for many years. We do slash-and-burn farming, locally called jum. The paddy field beside the pineapple farm is also ours.”
But Afsar Ali, a primary school teacher who settled in Bagachhori Bazar under the same upazila in 1981, claimed he and two others purchased the land two years ago from their neighbour, Muzaffar.
Afsar, originally from Jessore, told the Dhaka Tribune that Muzaffar obtained the land in 1981 from the then government.
Several other Bangalis from Bagachhori Bazar confirmed that the government of that time had provided them with parcels of land from Bagachhori to Gilachhori along the Rangamati-Khagrachhari link road.
PCJSS Information and Publicity Secretary Mangal Kumar Chakma told the Dhaka Tribune: “According to the rules in the CHT, settlers cannot own any land here as they are not permanent residents in this area. The District Council is the authority to check on who can or cannot own land here. ”
Saying he was unaware which lands had been provided to people from other regions by the government, Mangal added: “The roadside land cannot be owned by Bangalis because most of this land is “bhogdokholiyo” land and owned by the indigenous people. Such incidents are not isolated incidents. This is a process whereby the government is aiming to make indigenous people economically vulnerable and subsequently evicting them.”
Bangali residents held a protest and displayed placards demanding the arrest of “identified criminals.”
No case had been filed yet over the pineapple farm’s destruction.
When asked why he had not filed a case over the destruction of the pineapple farm, Afsar said he was waiting for the investigation committee report and preferred negotiation rather legal action.
Indigenous people affected by the arson attack the following day said they had not filed a case because they felt insecure.
On condition of anonymity, indigenous residents of the area named Naniarchar police station BNP President Rejas Nabi, Secretary Nuruzzaman and BNP activists Zahirul Islam, Zafar, Mizanur, Riaz, Sohel and Khabir as the arsonists who acted with the support of the army.
The victims of the arson attack said they were about to resist the attack and protect their homes, when they heard the army sounding continuous warning whistles and firing three blank shots. They then decided to run for cover in the nearby jungle.
Lt Col Sohel, Naniarchar zonal commander, denied allegations of army backing for the attack.
He said: “Two army patrols, led by a major, reached the spot around 8am and found 400-500 settlers attacking the Buddhist temple. No indigenous person was present at the time and our forces tried their best to bring the situation under control. When the mob became more agitated our team charged batons and tried to control the fire.”
“The allegation against us is very sad. Maybe some political organisation has mislead the indigenous people. The indigenous people fled the area so they did not see how we tried to save their houses. Since they did not see our actions, it is possible that it was suggested to them that we supported the settlers,” Sohel said.
“We surrounded the temple and succeeded in moving the angry mob away from it. You can see that the temple was not burnt down to ashes,” Sohel added.
The Dhaka Tribune confirms that the only structure still standing, rather than being burnt to ashes like the rest of the area, is the temple.
The vandals decapitated a Buddhist statue and harassed a monk.
Ava Shah, a monk at the temple, said: “The settlers slapped me. Then they entered and vandalised the whole temple. They made off with five Buddhist statues and cash.”
Tension continues to prevail in the district among members of both communities.
The Rangamati-Khagrachhari link road remains blocked by indigenous people.