Hill Voice, 14 March 2023, Special Correspondent: A soldier of the Bangladesh Army was reportedly killed and two army personnel and a laborer were injured in the firing by armed terrorists of Kuki-Chin National Party (KNF), known as Bawm Party, in separate two attacks on two consecutive days in Bandarban. Besides, the terrorists have also kidnapped 4 Bengali laborers engaged in the road construction of the army. Besides, it is reported that Bawm Party terrorists tried to blow up the Sekaduzhiri bridge on the Thanchi-Remakri-Leikri road under construction by the army, demanding extortion.
It should be noted that as a conspiracy to create division among the Jumma people based on the policy of ‘divide and rule’, to foil the process of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Accord, and above all to destroy the ongoing movement for the implementation of the Accord, the army have given shelter and indulgence to the KNF from the beginning and at one stage supported the armed activities of Bawm Party against the movement for implementation of the CHT Accord as well as right to self-determination of Jumma peoples. But that conspiracy of the army has become a boomerang not only for the army themselves but also for the country.
Even since 2020, when the army-backed Bawm Party armed terrorists started providing shelter and military training to the international Islamic terrorist Organization ‘Jamaatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya’ in exchange of money in their hideout in the remote areas of Ruma, the army have tactfully supported the Bawm Party pretending of their innocent. Otherwise, it would never have been possible for the Bawm Party to covertly carry out such a massive program of providing shelter and military training to dozens of Islamic militants for almost three years long, bypassing the tight security and intensive intelligence surveillance of various intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies including the Army and DGFI in the three hill districts.
At one stage, when the news of providing sheltering and military training to Islamic militants by the Bawm Party came to light, the Bangladesh government became active against it. In view of this, joint forces started combing operation in Bandarban from October 2022 against Islamic militants and militant shelter providers. At that time too, the army tactfully allowed the Bawm Party and Islamic militants to escape from their Sippi hill hideout in Rowanchari. Even knowing the location of the Bawm Party terrorists and Islamic militants in the area adjacent to Siloupi Para in Ruma, the army mysteriously refrained from carrying out raid on the hideouts.
It is also learnt that SSF (Special Security Force) and RAB from Dhaka were added at one stage of the combing operation due to the vested policy of the army deployed in Chittagong Hill Tracts beyond the policy of Dhaka. But despite so, the operation was not successful due to conflict between the army, SSF and RAB, according to related sources.
Even the claim made in a RAB press conference on 21 October 2022 that 7 Islamic militants and 3 armed terrorists of the Bawm Party were arrested from the hideout of the Bawm Party was also false. In fact, they were shown to have been arrested from the Bawm Party hideout actually having arrested from elsewhere of the country. It appears that such fake arrests have been publicized to show the success of the ongoing operation against Islamic militants sheltered in the camps of the Bawm Party, mainly with the ulterior motive of misleading international public opinion.
In fact, the Bawm Party that was nurtured by the army has become a boomerang for the army today. The proof of that is the incident in which one soldier of 3 East Bengal Regiment was killed and two soldiers were injured in the firing of armed terrorists of the Bawm Party in Painkhyong Para of Ruma Upazila of Bandarban on Sunday, March 12, 2023. The army jawan who was shot dead on the spot was identified as Master Warrant Officer Nazim Uddin and the injured personnel as Sainik Rakib (23) and Sainik Shishir (23).
A day before this incident, on Saturday 11th March 2023, armed terrorists of the Bawm Party shot and injured a Bengali worker named Md. Jalal (27) engaged in the construction of the border road of the army and abducted 4 other workers in Leikri of Thanchi Upazila. Among the abductees, the two were identified as driver Rubel (30) and Surya Das (30). Later, other workers rescued the injured Md. Jalal and took him to Thanchi Upazila Health Complex.
Yesterday Monday (March 13) it was reported that terrorists tried to blow up Sekadujhiri Bridge on the Thanchi-Remakri-Leikri road under construction in Bandarban by the army in order to put pressure for extortions. However, it is reported that the main bridge was not damaged even though the side walls of the bridge were slightly damaged. Before this, on March 8, 2023, the Bawm Party terrorists have collected 11 lakh Taka from the Bangchari road, according to related sources.
Earlier, during the combing operation, on October 12, 2022, armed terrorists and Islamic militants attacked the army in Saizam Para of Barathali Union of Bilaichari, killing three army personnel and injuring 7 others. Besides, the armed terrorists snatched three weapons including an LMG and a CR of the army.
KNF is not only engaged in international terrorist activities such as providing military training to Islamic militants, but also continues to persecute the innocent indigenous Jumma people including the Bawm community by killing, abducting, beating, threatening, etc. Even the Christian priests are not spared from KNF persecution.
Since last year, KNF has abducted 26 innocent villagers including 11 from the Bawm community, killed at least 7 people including 3 from the Bawm community, evicted over 1,000 Bawm, Tanchangya, Tripura and Marma residents from nearly two dozen villages. About 600 villagers of the Bawm community have been forced to take refuge in Mizoram as refugees after being evicted by the Bawm Party.
The conspiracy started by the army against the ongoing movement for implementation of the CHT Accord, has now turned into a boomerang issue for the army. Bawm Party, the pet son of the army, is today supporting the global Islamic terrorists by indulging the Islamic militants and carrying out one after another attacks, shootings and killings on the army and innocent Jumma villagers. It can be said without hesitation that the army deployed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is entirely responsible for this.
Needless to say, in this way, the army are making the problem of CHT more complicated by carrying out conspiracy one after another in the region. In particular, the army began to take over conspiratorial activities, such as creating and supporting various armed terrorist groups, organizing ultra-communal and ultra-nationalist groups like the Parbatya Chattagram Nagorik Committee (Chittagong Hill Tracts Citizen Committee) and inciting them against the implementation of the CHT Accord, supporting the settlers to expand cluster villages of the settlers, occupying land and evicting Jumma people in the name of tourism centers and various development projects, carrying out communal attacks on Jumma people and setting fire to the houses of Jumma people for occupying land by the settlers, obstructing the withdrawal of temporary camps in accordance with the Accord and the initiative to set up APBN camps in the place of withdrawn camps, army raids and persecution in CHT in the name of law and order, conspiracy to criminalize Jumma people who are engaged in the movement for implementation of the CHT Accord as terrorists and extortionists, etc.
As a result of such activities of the army, the situation in the CHT is once again turning into a conflict like the pre-Accord period. And for that, the army are putting the blame on the Jumma people who have been vocal in demanding the implementation of the CHT Accord.
The opportunity created through the signing of CHT Accord for a political and peaceful solution to the CHT crisis, today due to one after another such conspiracies of the army against the Accord and against the national interest, that historical opportunity is about to be destroyed, which can never bring good results for the greater interest of the country, conscious citizens have expressed the opinion.
