Quoting newspaper reports, the AI said Mangal Kumar Chakma, Mrinal Kanti Tripura, Ina Hume and Albert Mankin are to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the CHT Affairs Ministry for comments they made at the United Nation's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York in May 2005.

It said a summon to this effect is reportedly being prepared by the standing committee. It is believed to have been prompted by allegations sent to the committee through the Bangladeshi diplomatic mission in the United States alleging that the statements of the indigenous leaders contained anti-state references.

The committee has said if the indigenous leaders could not provide satisfactory answers, legal action would be taken against them.

AI said it has "studied the statements of the indigenous leaders to the above-mentioned UN forum and found nothing outside the remit of their fundamental rights to express their political views freely and peacefully."

"The issues they have raised are fully compatible with the purpose of the UN forum and with the provisions of the CHT peace accords, which were signed in December 1997 between the Bangladesh government and representatives of the CHT tribal people," AI said, adding, "Their demands for the implementation of the provisions of the peace accord amounts to nothing more than a legitimate criticism of the government's failure to fully abide by its obligations within the ambit of the Peace Accord."

AI said the issues raised by the indigenous leaders and the manner in which they have been voiced at the UN forum are fully in line with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which the Government of Bangladesh is a party.

It said, "The standing committees' plan to summon the indigenous leaders may amount to a politically motivated measure aimed at suppressing the peaceful expression of their critical views."

AI said seven-and-a-half years after the signing of the peace accord, Bangladesh government "has failed to implement fully some of the most crucial provisions of the accord. These include the rehabilitation of all returned refugees and internally displaced families, settlement of land confiscated from the tribal people during the conflict, withdrawal of non-permanent army camps from the Chittagong Hill Tracts and transfer of power within the provisions of the peace accord to the local CHT administration."

AI urged the Bangladesh government to ensure that the four indigenous leaders are not subjected to harassment and intimidation for comments they made at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2005.

It said the fundamental rights of Bangladesh's indigenous people, including the tribal people of CHT, should be ensured to express their views peacefully within and outside Bangladesh

AI called for implementation of the provisions of the peace accord, which promises to enhance the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights of the tribal people of the CHT and also called for investigation into reports of human rights abuses against the indigenous people by an independent and impartial body, and bringing those found responsible to justice.