Military still in CHT eight years after peace accords
December 2, 2005
This page was created in 2005 and may contain language which is now outdated.
Eight years after the CHT peace accords were signed between the Bangladesh government and the Jumma tribal peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, hundreds of military and paramilitary camps remain in the region. The camps were supposed to have been dismantled and soldiers withdrawn following the accords.
The deal, signed on 2 December 1997, gave the Jummas some control over their land, and was seen by most as a significant step forward. The worst atrocities against the Jummas have ended, but they still face violence at the hands of Bengali settlers and the military.
Fifty years ago, the eleven Jumma tribes were almost the sole inhabitants of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Now, they are outnumbered by Bengali settlers who have been moved onto their land by the government.
