Army tortures innocent villagers and also UP Chairman and JSS activist arrest

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Army tortures and arrests innocent villagers in Naniachar


Hill Watch Human Rights Forum
NEWS No. 14/2007, May 10, 2007

The Bangladesh military personnel in a series of raids on Jumma villages in Naniachar under Rangamati district tortured 8 innocent villagers and arrested two.

HWHRF received complaint that on 27 April a group of army personnel from Naniachar zone carried out raids on four Jumma villages namely Egarallya Chara, Chongrakuttya, Gobchari and Gunguttyachari. It was a predawn raid and the soldiers encircled the villages on all sides, with rounding up the people at day-break.

At least eight villagers were beaten up inhumanly during the raids. The victims have been identified as Udoi Kiron Karbari (Egarallyachara), Sunil Bikash Talukder (Egarallyachara), Siddharth Chakma (Gobchari), Gyana Joti Chakma (Gobchari), Chokka Chakma (Gobchari), Mother of Babudhan (Gobchari), Purno Kumar Chakma (Gunguttyachari) and Barallya Chakma (Gunguttyachari).

Of them, Siddharth Chakma (55) s/o Buddha Moni Chakma and Jyana Joti Chakma (40) s/o Moti Lal Chakma were handed over to the police, while Purna Kumar Chakma was taken to the camp. He was tortured again there and released at night the same day.

Villagers said JSS members Siarth Chakma and Biarth Chakma - the two brothers who are in the pay of the army – played the role of collaborators in the planning and execution of the raids.

This and many other incidents tend to indicate that some people are now out to take advantage of the state of emergency to settle personal scores. They are furnishing the members of the joint forces with false tip-offs about people against whom they harbour some personal grudge.

The joint forces, on the other hand, do not often verify the information they receive and work in a mechanical way, putting their image at stake and victimizing the innocent people at the same time.
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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


UP chairman, 3 JSS men arrested in Rangamati



Hill Watch Human Rights Forum

NEWS No. 13/2007, May 09, 2007



Joint forces yesterday arrested Ghilachari Union Parishad chairman Mr. Amar Bikash Chakma and three other Jana Samhati Samiti activists from Manikchari in Rangamati district .



Mr. Chakma was on his way to Phuro Moan Bhabona Kendra, a Buddhist meditation centre, to become a Sramana or novice.



The joint forces personnel stopped a bus carrying him at Manikchari in Ghagra, dragged him out and sent him to Rangamati. The reason for his arrest could not be known.



Three other JSS activists were also reportedly arrested by the military. However, their identities could not be known.

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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