Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) and its armed wing Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA) have been in the spotlight for a while now. Bangladeshi security forces are now conducting a months-long “special drive” in the Bandarban district of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to eradicate this menace. Since its emergence, KNF has been aggressive in increasing its control over territories, and these aggressive methods and the ensuing special drive have led the region to new heights of destabilization. The KNF's rivalry with other ethnic armed factions is also highly detrimental to the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord.
KNF, also known as the Bawm Party, is an ethnic armed group of Kuki-Chin separatists in the CHT, and up until last year, KNF was a nascent armed group mainly engaged in small crimes. However, it started to provide training and weapons to Jamatul Sharqiya -- a newly-born Islamist terrorist organization -- in exchange for money. Soon, KNF earned a lot of money and increased its number of people to somewhere between 3,000 to 4,000.
Its rapid recruitment and ties with Islamist terrorists caught the attention of Bangladeshi security forces, which led to the aforementioned special drive.
Besides their ties with terrorists, KNF has also formed a grave enmity with the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) -- two armed factions led by ethnic Chakma and Marma. The inter-ethnic clash has resulted in too many deaths. KNF officially claimed responsibility for the killings of 21 CHT individuals. Even amid the special drive, ethnic clashes killed four CHT people near Ronin Para this month. Prior to that, eight KNF members were killed during a gunfight with UPDF in April.
The CHT Peace Accord
The Chittagong Hill Tract Peace Accord was signed between the government of Bangladesh and the PCJSS led by MN Larma and in the 26 years it has been since its signing, the government has implemented many of its provisions. The government claims to have successfully implemented 48 out of 72 provisions, but PCJSS and UPDF have different outlooks regarding these implementations. However, many of the provisions are still not implemented even to this day.
The accord gave recognition to the special status of the hill people which authorized forming a regional council representing the local government council. The government has also established a dedicated ministry to supervise CHT affairs. The accord also ensures full land ownership rights to the respective owners. The quota system and the government's efforts also mainstreamed the indigenous population as they are joining civil services, attending universities, and finding jobs in cities.
Under one of the most important provisions of the Accord, the allowance of permanent cantonments was preserved, and temporary army, Ansar, and village defense forces were to be gradually withdrawn. But, due to continued militancy, security concerns, and ethnic unrest, the process slowed down and CHT is still highly militarized to ensure the security of the region.
How is KNF disrupting implementation of the accord?
The emergence of KNF has brought new security concerns for the CHT. The Kuki-Chin community stresses over three bordering countries: India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Myanmar, they have their own ethnic armed organization in Chin state. In Mizoram, India, Kuki-Chin and their distant cousins such as the Mizo and Zo cherish the dream of their own state. As a result, KNF's birth and its network with its communal forces in Myanmar and Mizoram, reinforce new separatist concerns for not only Bangladesh but also for India and Myanmar.
However, such a dream is unrealistic considering the current global realities.
As a result, it brings new implications for the provision of defense forces' withdrawal from CHT. The renewed flash of arms by KNF goons and violent attacks further stalled the process. Moreover, the inter-ethnic rivalry between KNF, UPDF, and PCJSS further makes it difficult to pull off the military forces from the region. Instead, it influences policy-makers to round up military deployment there even more. The inter-ethnic rivalry is also detrimental to the question of autonomy as it only yields anarchy.
Besides, the new forced migrations to Mizoram, occasional killings, and trans-national militia ties are also escalating security conditions -- this has already created an environment of fear in the Bandarban district. Such an environment only delays on-the-ground implementations of the CHT peace accord.
In addition to challenging the implementation of the CHT accord, the KNF affairs are also posing a threat to local and national security. Since last year, tourism in CHT has been closed for security concerns. Many “para” are dependent upon the tourism business. These villages are suffering miserably. Moreover, security forces are facing occasional casualties.
Very recently, a KNF attack and an explosion killed two personnel from the Bangladesh Army while severely injuring two others. Even though KNF is small in numbers and the special drive has been going on for months now, the porous border, hilly terrain, and inaccessible camp locations are putting the ground forces a step behind. But, gradually, the ground forces are either driving away or capturing the KNF separatists.
The KNF is the very definition of rebel without a cause. Its mindless insurgency is only further destabilizing the CHT and barring the implementation of the peace accord. Unfortunately, the peaceful Kuki-Chin/Bawm communities are now under scrutiny for the misdeeds of an insurgency group.
Coordinated efforts alongside the ongoing special drive is what is needed to curb this menace once and for all.
Aziz Patwary is a former employee of World Bank.
