cerebral palsy

Urgent newsfrom CHT, Bangladesh: UPDF Leader's wife arrested

Army arrest 5 including wife of UPDF leader Rangamati

Hill Watch Human Rights Forum
NEWS No. 01/2007, April 02, 2007

Members of the Bangladesh military yesterday arrested
five persons including wife of UPDF leader Sachib
Chakma and tortured two villagers in a remote hilly
hamlet in Rangamati district.

Sources said a group of army personnel from Jurippya
Para camp raided the house of Sachib Chakma, a central
committee member of the United People’s Democratic
Front, in the village of Bogachari and beat up his
father Mereya Chakma (67), and another villager Arun
Chakma (40).

The army asked for Sachib Chakma, but he was not
available at the time. The soldiers then took his
father Mereya Chakma, his wife Manekpudi Chakma, his
two children aged 2 and 4 and Arun Chakma to Naniachar
army zone headquarters. The army personnel also
misbehaved with his wife, who is a teacher of a
primary school in Kawakhali.

Sachib Chakma was arrested twice before – first on 11
February 1998 for voicing criticism to the CHT Accord
and then on 23 May 2005 along with 13 others from
Khagrachari office of the UPDF while they were holding
a meeting. He was released on bail a few moths back
from Chittagong jail.

After the declaration of state of emergency on 12
January, military operations have been stepped up in
the CHT. At least 8 UPDF members have been arrested
since then. The military is using the emergency rules
to unleash sweeping political repression against UPDF
and its front organisations.
................................................................................................................................
Hill Watch Human Rights Forum provides accurate,
objective and reliable information on human rights
abuses in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. For further
details contact: hwhrf_99@yahoo.com