Reuters AlertNet Lite - Bangladesh denies abuse of Chittagong hill tribes

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Bangladesh denies abuse of Chittagong hill tribes

02 Dec 2007 07:28:39 GMT
Source: Reuters

DHAKA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Bangladesh on Sunday rejected as false and baseless allegations of continuing abuse of rights of tribal people in the country's Chittagong Hill Tracts, and said they enjoy more privileges than other citizens.

London-based Survival International, a worldwide support group for indigenous people, has said violence, land grabbing and intimidation still continued in the hill tracts and escalated since Bangladesh declared a state of emergency in January.

Over 50 Jumma (tribal) activists have been arrested, often on false charges, the group alleged in a statement issued ahead of the 10th anniversary of a peace accord between the hill tribes and the Bangladesh government.

The accord, reached on December 2, 1997, formally ended a 25-year tribal insurgency over demand for autonomy, in which more than 8,500 rebels, soldiers and civilians had been killed.

"Bangladesh's campaign against the Jummas has been genocidal. With the peace accord, the country salvaged some of its reputation," Survival's director Stephen Corry had said in its statement.

"But 10 years on, with abuses escalating, international attention must focus on the Chittagong Hill Tracts once more."

Bangladesh strongly denied the charges of rights abuse and said tribal people in the region are enjoying more privileges than other citizens after the peace accord.

"The allegation of any violence against the Jumma is totally false. We have found no evidence of it," said Rawshan Ara Begum, a senior official of the ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. (Reporting by Azad Majumder, writing by Anis Ahmed, editing by Jerry Norton)

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Last updated:Sun Dec 2 07:27:42 2007