Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord
Encyclopedia
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord is a political agreement and peace treaty
signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), the political organisation that controlled the Shanti Bahini
militia. The accord allowed for the recognition of the rights of the peoples and tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
region and ended the decades-long insurgency
between the Shanti Bahini and government forces.
and language
and designating all citizens of Bangladesh as Bengalis
. In talks with Hill Tracts delegation led by Chakma
politician Manabendra Narayan Larma
, the country's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
insisted that the ethnic groups of the Hill Tracts adopt the Bengali identity. Sheikh Mujib is also reported to have threatened to settle Bengalis in the Hill Tracts to reduce the native peoples into a minority.
, was organised to resist government policies. The Shanti Bahini insurgencts hid in the neighbouring India
n state of Tripura
, where they trained and equipped themselves. In 1977, they launched their first attack on a Bangladesh Army
convoy. The Shanti Bahini divided its area of operations into zones, and raised forces from the native people, who were formally trained. The Shanti Bahini attacked Bengali police and soldiers, government offices and personnel, and the Bengali settlers in the region. The group also attacked any native believed to be opposing it and supporting the government. During the insurgency, the Shanti Bahini, the Bangladeshi Army, police and gangs of Bengali settlers were accused of perpetrating abuse of human rights
and ethnic cleansing
.
Ziaur Rahman
created a Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board
under an army general in order to address the socio-economic needs of the region, but the entity proved unpopular and became a source of antagonism and mistrust amongst the native people against the government. The government failed to address the long-standing issue of the displacement of people, numbering an estimated 100,000 caused by the construction of the Kaptai Dam
in 1962. In the 1980s, the government began settling Bengalis in the region, causing the eviction of many natives and a significant alteration of demographics. Having constituted only 11.6% of the regional population in 1974, the number of Bengalis grew by 1991 to constitute 48.5% of the regional population. In 1989, the government of then-president Hossain Mohammad Ershad
passed the District Council Act created three ties of local government councils to devolve powers and responsibilities to the representatives of the native peoples, but the councils were rejected and opposed by the PCJSS.
Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of Ziaur Rahman and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party
. Fresh rounds of talks began in 1996 with the newly-elected prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League, the daughter of Sheikh Mujib. The peace accord was finalised and formally signed on December 2, 1997.
The agreement recognised the distinct ethnicity and special status of the tribes and indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and established a Regional Council consisting of the local government councils of the three districts of the Hill Tracts. The council was to be composed by men and women from the Chakma
, Marma
, Tripura
, Murang
and Tanchangya
tribes; the delegates would be elected by the district councils of the Hill Tracts. Elected for a five-year term, the council would have authority and responsibility to maintain law and order, social justice and tribal laws, oversee general administration, coordinate disaster relief and management, issue licenses for heavy industries and oversee other development projects. The central government would be required to consult the regional councils over all issues concerning the Hill Tracts.
The agreement also provided for the setting up of a central Ministry of Tribal Affairs to be headed by a person of tribal ethnicity to administer the affairs concerning the Hill Tracts. The agreement also laid out plans for the return of land to displaced natives and an elaborate land survey to be held in the Hill Tracts.
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), the political organisation that controlled the Shanti Bahini
Shanti Bahini
The Shanti Bahini was the name of the military wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti - the United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh....
militia. The accord allowed for the recognition of the rights of the peoples and tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Chittagong Hill Tracts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts comprise an area of 13,295 km2 in south-eastern Bangladesh, and borders India and Myanmar . It was a single district of Bangladesh until 1984. In that year it was divided into three separate districts: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Topographically, this is the...
region and ended the decades-long insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
between the Shanti Bahini and government forces.
Background
The modern conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts began when the political representatives of the native peoples protested against the government policy of recognising only the Bengali cultureCulture of Bengal
The culture of Bengal encompasses cultures in the Bengal region, which today consists of the independent nation of Bangladesh , and the Indian federal republic's constitutive state of West Bengal. The two geographical entities share many cultural traits which root from their historical...
and language
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and designating all citizens of Bangladesh as Bengalis
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
. In talks with Hill Tracts delegation led by Chakma
Chakma people
The Chakmas , also known as the Changhma , are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or...
politician Manabendra Narayan Larma
Manabendra Narayan Larma
Manabendra Narayan Larma was a Bangladeshi Chakma politician. A leading proponent of the rights of the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, he was the founding leader of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti and its armed wing, the Shanti Bahini.-Early life:Manabendra Narayan Larma was...
, the country's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
insisted that the ethnic groups of the Hill Tracts adopt the Bengali identity. Sheikh Mujib is also reported to have threatened to settle Bengalis in the Hill Tracts to reduce the native peoples into a minority.
Conflict
Consequently, Manabendra Narayan Larma and others founded the Parbatya Chhatagram Jana Shanghatti Samiti (PCJSS) as a united political organisation of all native peoples and tribes in 1973. The armed wing of the PCJSS, the Shanti BahiniShanti Bahini
The Shanti Bahini was the name of the military wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti - the United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh....
, was organised to resist government policies. The Shanti Bahini insurgencts hid in the neighbouring India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
, where they trained and equipped themselves. In 1977, they launched their first attack on a Bangladesh Army
Bangladesh Army
The Bangladesh Army is the land forces branch and the largest of the three uniformed service of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities in support of Bangladesh's security and defense strategies including defense of the nation's...
convoy. The Shanti Bahini divided its area of operations into zones, and raised forces from the native people, who were formally trained. The Shanti Bahini attacked Bengali police and soldiers, government offices and personnel, and the Bengali settlers in the region. The group also attacked any native believed to be opposing it and supporting the government. During the insurgency, the Shanti Bahini, the Bangladeshi Army, police and gangs of Bengali settlers were accused of perpetrating abuse of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
.
Attempted solutions
The then-President of BangladeshPresident of Bangladesh
Since 1991, the President of Bangladesh is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament. Since 1996, the President's role becomes more important after the term of the government has finished, when his executive authority is enhanced as laid down in the constitution of the...
Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur Rahman
President Ziaur Rahman, Bir Uttam, was a Bangladeshi politician and general, who read the declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971 on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He later became the seventh President of Bangladesh from 1977 until 1981...
created a Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board
Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board was a government agency established in 1978 by the then-President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman in response to the rise of the Shanti Bahini insurgency. Headed by an army general, the board was formed to provide special attention and administer the issues...
under an army general in order to address the socio-economic needs of the region, but the entity proved unpopular and became a source of antagonism and mistrust amongst the native people against the government. The government failed to address the long-standing issue of the displacement of people, numbering an estimated 100,000 caused by the construction of the Kaptai Dam
Kaptai Dam
Kaptai Dam is located on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, 65 km upstream from Chittagong in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. It is an earthfill embankment dam with a reservoir water storage capacity of 11,000 km². The primary purpose of the construction of the dam and reservoir was to generate...
in 1962. In the 1980s, the government began settling Bengalis in the region, causing the eviction of many natives and a significant alteration of demographics. Having constituted only 11.6% of the regional population in 1974, the number of Bengalis grew by 1991 to constitute 48.5% of the regional population. In 1989, the government of then-president Hossain Mohammad Ershad
Hossain Mohammad Ershad
Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad is a Bangladeshi politician who was President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990. Previously, he was Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army and then Chief Martial Law Administrator in 1982....
passed the District Council Act created three ties of local government councils to devolve powers and responsibilities to the representatives of the native peoples, but the councils were rejected and opposed by the PCJSS.
Peace accord
Peace negotiations were initiated after the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in 1991, but little progress was made with the government of prime ministerPrime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the Head of the Government of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Jatiya Sangsad Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate...
Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of Ziaur Rahman and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party , commonly referred to as the BNP, is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. BNP ruled Bangladesh total 18 years since her independence, the longest than any other party in Bangladesh...
. Fresh rounds of talks began in 1996 with the newly-elected prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League, the daughter of Sheikh Mujib. The peace accord was finalised and formally signed on December 2, 1997.
The agreement recognised the distinct ethnicity and special status of the tribes and indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and established a Regional Council consisting of the local government councils of the three districts of the Hill Tracts. The council was to be composed by men and women from the Chakma
Chakma
Chakma may refer to:*Chakma people, a Tibeto-Burman people of Bangladesh and Northeast India*Chakma language, the Indo-European language spoken by them*Chakma script...
, Marma
Marma
The Marma also known as Magh or Mog are Arakanese descendants inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh since the Arakan kingdom period in the 16th century AD. In the late 20th century, their population stood at over 210,000. Ethnically related to the Myanmar, they are largely followers...
, Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
, Murang
Murang people
The Murang people are a tribe living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh....
and Tanchangya
Tanchangya people
The Tanchangya people are an indigenous people in southeastern Bangladesh. There are 13 indigenous ethnic communities living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts among the 45 ethnic communities in Bangladesh. ‘Tanchangya’ is the one of them. The word “Tong” means Hill and “Taugya” means Jhum . So, the...
tribes; the delegates would be elected by the district councils of the Hill Tracts. Elected for a five-year term, the council would have authority and responsibility to maintain law and order, social justice and tribal laws, oversee general administration, coordinate disaster relief and management, issue licenses for heavy industries and oversee other development projects. The central government would be required to consult the regional councils over all issues concerning the Hill Tracts.
The agreement also provided for the setting up of a central Ministry of Tribal Affairs to be headed by a person of tribal ethnicity to administer the affairs concerning the Hill Tracts. The agreement also laid out plans for the return of land to displaced natives and an elaborate land survey to be held in the Hill Tracts.
Assessment
After the treaty was signed, the PCJSS emerged as a mainstream political party. The Shanti Bahini insurgents formally laid down their arms and received monetary compensation. More than 50,000 displaced tribals were able to return to their homes. The treaty received a mixed response in Bangladesh. While praised by many who sought an end to violence and to forge peace and development, the accord was seen by others as compromising the territorial integrity of Bangladesh and the assertion that the Chittagong Hill Tracts were an inalienable part of the country. The treaty was also criticised due to the secrecy surrounding the negotiations and allegations by the then-opposition party, the BNP, which claimed that the demands of the Bengali settlers were not accommodated in the agreement and that far too many concessions had been made. However, the BNP promised to implement the accord after its election victory in 2001.External links
- Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord (.Doc)
- Online petition for the implementation of the accord
- Building Lasting Peace: Issues of the Implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord, by Bushra Hasina Chowdhury, ACDIS Occasional Paper, Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security, University of Illinois, August 2002.