Government says 48 articles of the 72 articles of the peace accord have been fully implemented
BSS: The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) has observed the 24th anniversary of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord on Thursday.
On the occasion, PCJSS and Bangladesh Adivasi Forum organized a discussion at the Liberation War Museum auditorium in the city’s Agargaon area, a press release said.
President of PCJSS and Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum (BIPF) Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, better known as Santu Larma, Bangladesh Workers’ Party President Rashed Khan Menon, United National Awami Party President Pankaj Bhattacharya, and International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission Co-Chair Advocate Sultana Kamal were present at the event.
Among others, Dhaka University teacher Professor Mesbah Kamal, DU Dean of Social Sciences Faculty Dr Sadeka Halim, poet and journalist Sohrab Hasan, rights activist Barrister Sara Hossain and Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) Presidium Member Kajal Debnath addressed the discussion and highlighted the overall situation of the CHT region, the release added.
General Secretary of BIPF Sanjeev Drong conducted the discussion while its central member Mainthin Pramila gave the welcome speech on the occasion.
The accord was signed on December 2 in 1997 between the government and the PCJSS during the first tenure of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ending bloody conflicts in three hill districts.
The then Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip Abul Hasnat Abdullah signed the agreement on behalf of the government while Santu Larma on behalf of the PCJSS.
Meanwhile, Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing on Thursday said that the development activities in hill regions had gained momentum after the CHT Peace Accord.
Addressing a discussion organized by the Ministry of CHT Affairs at the Secretariat, he said that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had directed the formation of a separate board in 1973 for the overall development of the CHT areas through a regional plan.
Of the 72 articles of the peace accord, 48 articles had already been fully implemented, 15 have been partially implemented and nine others are in the process of implementation, he mentioned.
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