News No. 109/2011, April 28, 2011
THE police have barred the Democratic Youth Forum from forming a human chain in front of Chittagong Press club demanding the release of its member Lenin Chakma from Santu group captivity.
The human chain was to be held at 4:30pm today but when the participants were about to stand on the pavement the police came and dispersed them.
The police said they would not allow the programme to take place without prior permission from the authorities concerned.
Apart from DYF leaders and activists, Lenin Chakma’s wife Swapna Chakma also came to take part in the human chain, carrying her 2-month old baby with her.
Her other daughter Uttora Chakma, 10, and father-in-law Subash Bashu Chakma also got there, as did her other relatives.
Later, Swapna Chakma posed for photographs, holding a placard bearing the slogan: “Santu, please set my husband free.”Towards Santu Larma she said: “My husband may have a political view different from that of yours, but he has done no wrong. I want to know why he has been kidnapped. I want you to free him, unharmed.”
She also requested all to be kind enough to tell or write Santu Larma to release her husband. (Santu group email address: pcjss.org@gmail.com, pcjss@hotmail.com, Postal address: Kalyanpur, Rangamati-4500, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh)
Meanwhile, Democratic Youth Forum Chittagong City Unit president Ziko Marma and General Secretary Thomas Chakma in a statement condemned the police action as undemocratic.
They also urged the government to take effective steps to get Lenin Chakma free. Alleging that a vested interest group within the government was providing support to Santu group to keep the fratricidal conflict alive, the two leaders said, “These people want to see that there is always unrest in the CHT, because it serves as a pretext for their continued presence in the area.”
Lenin Chakma was kidnapped along with his two others by members of Santu group from Rongi Para in Chittagong on 23 April.
The following day, while Kalaye Chakma and Suilapru Khiang were released, he was held hostage.
On 25 April, his wife Swapna Chakma filed a case with Double Mooring police station, but the police are yet to trace him.