Hill Voice, 18 July 2025, Rangamati: Today, Wednesday, 18 July 2025, at 11:00 AM, a protest rally and demonstration were held at the premises of the Kumar Samit Roy Gymnasium in Rangamati. The event was jointly organized by the Chittagong hill tracts Hill Students’ Council (PCP) and the Hill Women’s Federation in protest of the recent gang-rape of an indigenous teenage girl in Bhaibonchhara, Khagrachari, and to demand exemplary punishment of the perpetrators.

The rally began at the gymnasium premises, proceeded via the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office, and concluded back at the gymnasium grounds.

Present at the protest rally and gathering were Antar Chakma, Joint General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Hill Students’ Council (PCP); Sumitra Chakma, General Secretary of the Rangamati District Committee of the Parbatya Chattagram Juba Samiti; Mranuching Marma, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Hill Women’s Federation (HWF); and Kachingnu Marma, General Secretary of the Rangamati District Committee of the Bangladesh Marma Students’ Council (BMSC). The welcome speech at the gathering was delivered by Suniti Bikash Chakma, Organizational Secretary of the Rangamati District Branch of PCP.

PCP leader Antar Chakma stated that indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are no longer safe anywhere. The indigenous girl in Bhaibonchara, Khagrachari, was gang-raped by six settler Bengalis inside her own home. Attempts were made to cover up the incident by threatening and intimidating the victim. Later, the matter came to public attention when the traumatized girl attempted suicide by consuming poison. Although four of the accused have been arrested, two remain at large. When the four arrested individuals were being taken away in a police van, their smirking faces suggested a sense of impunity. There was not the slightest trace of remorse on their faces, raising public concern about whether justice will truly be served. Due to the culture of impunity prevailing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts—and across the country—ordinary citizens have lost faith in the justice system. This reflects a severe failure of the state.

Youth leader Sumitra Chakma said that incidents of violence against women, rape, rape followed by murder, enforced disappearances, and various other human rights violations are occurring regularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. These are not isolated incidents but rather part of a continuous cycle of oppression and repression. He stated that although governments in Bangladesh have changed many times and the country’s political history has taken many turns, there has been no change in the fate of the Jumma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. “We are still oppressed, still unsafe,” he said. Behind this lies a long-standing, well-planned state policy. With the direct and indirect support of the military and the administration, an extremist communal group has established a reign of terror, repression, and abuse in the Hill Tracts.

Mranuching Marma stated that in other parts of Bangladesh, there is at least some degree of judicial process in cases of rape and rape followed by murder. However, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, such judicial proceedings are virtually nonexistent. This culture of impunity is emboldening perpetrators even further. At the same time, it is fueling the state-sponsored conspiracy of ethnic cleansing. Today, neither Jumma women nor men in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are safe.

Kachingnu Marma of the BMSC stated that a longstanding culture of impunity prevails in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. As a result, even after repeated occurrences of heinous crimes like rape and rape after murder, justice is rarely served. The perpetrators remain beyond the reach of the law. He added, “We believe that the recent incident in Bhaibonchhara, Khagrachari, will be no exception.” He further said that when students held a peaceful protest in Khagrachari yesterday to speak out against this injustice, the military responded by baton-charging them. This clearly reveals who is committing these crimes—and who is enabling and protecting them.

The gathering was moderated by Milan Chakma, Joint General Secretary of the Rangamati District Branch of the PCP, and was presided over by Kabita Chakma, Joint General Secretary of the Rangamati District Committee of the Hill Women’s Federation (HWF).