chtnews.com
News No. 51/2014,
Sunday, July 20, 2014
THE Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB)
is reportedly planning to set up another Battalion headquarters in Baghaichari
Upazila of Rangamati district.
The BGB has already a
battalion headquarters at Baghaichari Upazila town (Battalion 39). In addition
to this, a new headquarters for another Battalion (No. 54) will be built at
Sajek in the same Upazila.
On Saturday, 19 July,
a BGB team led by Lt. Col. Sharif visited Gangaram in Sajek Union to select a
site for Battalion 54.
In Ujo Bazaar,
Gangaram, they requested Jyoti Lal Chakma, Chairman of Ujo Bazaar Management
Committee, to accompany them to go around the area to find a suitable site for
the headquarters.
However, Jyoti Lal
Chakma refused to go along with them while an elderly person told the BGB
officer that ‘no one will be interested to give land for a BGB camp without the
consent of the public representatives and prominent persons of the CHT.’
In an apparent attempt
to subdue them, the BGB commander said: People are supposed to live in Mouza
areas. But why there are so many villages in Reserve Forest area? [Settlement
in reserve forest area is prohibited.]
In a befitting reply
Joyti Lal said, “Once we also used to live in Mouza areas. But why no officer
has so far asked us why we had to leave those Mouza areas?” [They had to leave
Mouza areas due to military oppression and attacks by Bengali settlers.]
The BGB team then left
Ujo Bazaar, went a few yards from the roadside to have a look at the area
around and then went back.
Jyoti Lal Chakma told
chtnews that recently BGB had been frequenting the area, reinforcing the
concern that it might set up another battalion headquarters in Sajek.
He said any conspiracy
to evict Jumma people in the name of building a battalion headquarters for BGB
will not be acceptable to the people of Sajek.
“The people are
prepared to resist to the hilt if any BGB camp is built in Sajek uprooting
villagers.” he warned.
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