A total of 57 incidents of human rights violations were committed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts between January and June this year, the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) said in a report on Wednesday.
As a result of these incidents, 154 Jumma people became victims of human rights abuses, and 10 were killed, it said.
The report also alleged that in several upazilas of Bandarban, particularly among the Mro, Tripura, and some Chakma communities, conversion to Islam continues by exploiting poverty.
In its report, the PCJSS stated that the failure to implement the accord has led to a steady deterioration of the overall human rights situation in the CHT. Like previous governments, the current administration is following a policy of heavy military presence instead of pursuing political and peaceful solutions.
The PCJSS also claimed that even more than four months after the BNP government was formed following the 12 February election, no effective steps have been taken to implement the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord.
After the 13th parliamentary election, the current government under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman with a two‑thirds majority. On 12 February, Dipen Dewan, elected from Rangamati, was appointed Minister of the Ministry of CHT Affairs, which the report noted was consistent with the spirit of the CHT peace accord.
However, on the same day, Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, a Bengali MP elected from Chattogram‑5, was appointed State Minister of the same ministry, a move the report described as contrary to the core spirit of the accord.
It alleged that despite demands from various quarters, including the CHT, to remove him from the ministry, the government has taken no action.
