While the fall of the Awami League government has offered Bangladesh a fresh start at reestablishing democracy, unfortunately, much of the period since the government was toppled has been marred by unrest -- this is primarily a result of the continued lack of comprehensive law enforcement in the land.
Yes, Bangladesh is currently at an incredibly critical juncture in its history, which is why it must be clearly established by not just the interim government but indeed the wider public that Bangladesh can no longer afford the sort of communal violence that we have been observing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
According to news reports, the events which led to the current circumstances were started by the mob lynching of one Md Mamun on Wednesday, which resulted in a protest from the local indigenous community on the day after which in turn was retaliated against by mobs in the form of arson and even further assault on the same day. At the time of writing, the violence and unrest had spread across both the wider Khagrachhari and Rangamati, which have had Section 144 imposed, along with multiple deaths and even more being injured in the ensuing violence.
However, this is only the most recent example of violence in a region which has all but been defined by it -- despite the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord being signed all the way back in 1997, the region remains mired in communal unrest and oppression, a fact that is further corroborated by the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti’s annual report from earlier this year. Ultimately, for the people of the CHT, it all boils down to a fight for recognition of their cultural and land rights.
August 5 saw the rise of a new Bangladesh, one that says no to basic human rights being violated and stands against Bangladeshis being oppressed at any capacity. Lest we forget, those living in the Hill Tracts are also Bangladeshis.
