Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti has protested the government move to amend laws of three hill district councils to widen the size of the interim bodies.
In a statement yesterday, the PCJSS also criticised the government for not holding elections to the councils since the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in 1997 and demanded immediate elections.
On March 10, the cabinet approved drafts of the proposed laws for Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari district councils. As per the proposals, the number of the members of each interim council would be raised to 11 from five.
The PCJSS says: “As the governments change, they do not hold elections, rather appoints chairmen and members to the councils, and runs those undemocratically.
“These corrupt interim bodies have no accountability to the indigenous people and become rehabilitation centres for the ruling party men.”
The PCJSS alleges that the government is deliberately bypassing the elections with a view to create obstacle in the process of implementing the 1997 accord, struck between the then Awami League government and the PCJSS to end a decade long war.
“Although the government in its manifesto for January 5 election pledged to implement the accord, no effective step has been taken yet,” says the statement.