DITHERING OVER IMPLEMENTATION OF CHT TREATY REGRETTABLE

IT IS regrettable that the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace treaty has not yet been completely implemented although 12 years have passed since the previous Awami League government signed the agreement with the Parbatya Chhatagram Jana Sanghati Samiti, the political umbrella of the now-defunct Shanti Bahini on December 2, 1997. The treaty not only heralded the end to 22 years of guerrilla warfare but also marked, for the first time, the state’s theoretical recognition of the conflict of interest between the majority Bengalis and the minority ethnic communities and thus gave rise to the possibility of natural peace in the war-ravaged hill tracts. Subsequently, however, a combination of political opportunism of the AL government and political chauvinism of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government has stalled the process of its implementation. Indeed, the treaty has its own drawback. At least two of its provisions, both related to voter registration, are untenable and run counter to the constitution and the spirit of democracy. While a separate voter roll for the hill tracts is in direct contravention with the constitution, the suggestion that land ownership is a necessary precondition for registration as voters is completely unacceptable in a democratic polity, which does not discriminate between the landed and the landless with regard to their right to exercise their adult franchise. Yet, in spite of such drawbacks, the treaty offers a realistic chance to establish sustainable peace and harmony in the hill tracts. Even the United People’s Democratic Front, which has thus far opposed the treaty and marked December 2 as a ‘black day’, now believes ‘restoration of peace in the hills is possible through full implementation of the hills.’ Overall, these are auspicious times to let the seed of peace, so to speak, bloom in the hill tracts. However, to this end, the ruling class belonging to both sides of the political divide has a crucial decision to make. They have to decide whether they want to see Bangladesh as a nation-state shaped up by Bengali nationalism alone or recognise that the country is home to not only the Bengalis but also people of different ethnicities who have their own aspirations – political, economic, social and cultural. Global experience and our recent history teach us that deprivation and suppression of any ethnic group ultimately results in adverse impact on a state’s territorial integrity. The ruling class need also to realise that the nationalistic chauvinism of the majority Bengalis, may have, in the first place, stirred resentment in the minority ethnic communities and prompted them to resort to violent actions prior to the signing of the peace treaty. If the minority ethnic communities continue to feel deprived of their rights as a citizen of the people’s republic, the simmering discontent in the hills might once again erupt into a sustained conflict with grave ramifications for the territorial integrity of the state. Moreover, if such a conflict were to emerge, foreign powers would be only too happy to fish in the muddy waters, just as a neighbouring country did during the guerrilla wars in the hills for more than two decades. The prime minister’s assertion that her government is determined to implement the CHT treaty is indeed welcome. However, the people in general and the ethnic communities of the hill tracts in particular have had enough of assurances and reassurances; they want action commensurate with such promises. The people also expect the opposition camp led by the BNP to extend the government a helping hand and not become a barrier to implementation of the peace treaty merely for partisan mileage.

Source: New Age, December 3, 2009

EDITORIAL

Advertisement