Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 4 Num 267 Fri. February 27, 2004  
   
Letters to Editor


Local MP must take responsibility


A lawsuit has been brought accusing CHT Development Board Chairman Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan of involvement in the attack on Dr. Kamal Hossain. Whether Bhuiyan is found guilty or not, he should resign immediately as this attack happened on his watch.

Since assuming his post, Bhuiyan has been attacking the Peace Accord and actively assisted in further settlement of Bengalis in the region in violation of the Accord. The August 26 attack on Mohalchori, where the Bengali settlers attacked Jumma villages also happened on his watch. On November 19, Wadud added insult to injury when he spoke at an iftar party and accused PCJSS head Shantu Larma of "fomenting cut-throat crime and chaos during the last 30 years." (DS, Nov 23).

In 1947, Bengalis were only 3 per cent of the CHT population, but through government policy of resettlement, they had risen to 45 per cent by 1994. In spite of this policy of ethnic cleansing, the Jumma are still a majority in the CHT. Wadud Bhuiyan was appointed head of the CHT Development Board in spite of repeated demands to appoint a Jumma (Pahari) person to this post. Since taking power, Bhuiyan has been working against the Peace Accord. He must be removed from the CHT Development Board, and a Jumma representative should be appointed in his place. Only when the CHT's majority Jumma people are represented fairly will there be any hope for peace and justice in the region.