Lack of political will, necessary changes in the administrative system and process, and violence among other issues, hindered the proper implementation of the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord 17 years into its signing, speakers at a policy dialogue said yesterday.
They also noted that despite maximum willingness of the government, which was the signatory party of the Accord with Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), the implementation could not be translated through administrative process. They emphasised on continuous dialogue and enhanced coordination in this regard.
The daylong dialogue was held at the capital’s Cirdap auditorium.
Senior Awami League leader Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury as the chief guest, in the first session of the dialogue, said her party was politically committed to implement the Accord, and that they were determined to prove this willingness through their efforts.
The implementation process was disrupted as the parties against the Accord had been in power from 2001 to 2008, Sajeda, also chairman of the CHT Peace Accord Implementation Committee said.
The first session was also addressed by Social Welfare Minister Promod Mankin and CHT Affairs Ministry Secretary Nababikram Kishore Tripura while Dhaka University teacher Prof Mesbah Kamal presented the keynote paper. Lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badsha conducted the session while Ubaidul Muktadir Chowdhury MP presided over the session.
Ain O Salish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal said despite the government’s maximum willingness, the “main hindrance in implementing the Accord lies in the fact that enough change has not been done in the institutions of the hill tracts.”
Addressing the second session as the chief guest, she alleged that the Accord could not be executed also because of the obstructions created by influential people and organisations in the hill tracts.
“The government has to identify the hindrances for the sake of proper implementation of the Accord,” said Sultana Kamal, also a former adviser to a caretaker government.
Former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Shakhawat Hossain pointed out that land disputes in the region needed to be settled properly, which “requires political will.”
He said the issues of natural resources, identification of the hill people and their constitutional rights were supposed to be mentioned elaborately in the Accord.
Professor Dr Shah Alam, a member of the Law Commission, said if
properly implemented, the Accord would be a landmark in the history of the country.
Ushaton Talukder MP blamed the slow administrative process for the delay in execution of the Accord.
PCJSS Chairman Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma alleged that many counter-insurgency legacies and institutions were in force in the CHT area violating the provisions of the Accord.
He demanded that development in the hill districts be done according to the expectation and will of the indigenous people. “The Accord was signed with a good intent but the failure to implement it properly is a disgrace for any democratic system,” he said.
Firoja Begum Chino MP said that violence centring the implementation of the Accord must be avoided. “It requires cooperation of all the stakeholders.”
The last session of the dialogue was addressed by Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Dhirendra Nath Shambhu MP, Mrinal Kanti Das MP and Sanjeeb Drong.
