News No. 124/2011, May 21, 2011
A CENTRAL committee member of the United Peoples' Democratic Front (UPDF) and three of its members have been killed in an armed attack by members of the Santu Larma faction of the Jana Samhati Samiti in Subolong in Rangamati district.
The killing took place at about 9:30am today when they were holding a brief meeting over breakfast in the house of Arun Chakma in the village of Midingachari about the upcoming convention on national minorities to be held in Dhaka.
The Santu group men suddenly appeared there and opened fire indiscriminately at them, killing Shukra Sen Chakma alias Prabin on the spot and forcing Animesh Chakma, Pulok Chakma and Purna Bhushan Chakma to jump into the Kaptai lake water.
They are believed to have drowned after being wounded.
"The hope for their survival is next to zero", Alakesh Chakma, an organizer of UPDF Rangamati district unit, said.
Joy Chakma, who survived the attack, said they were six UPDF members holding a meeting in the house when the incident took place.
"When they came I took shelter on the machan or roof of the house." he said, adding that the Santu group men also set fire to the house before leaving.
He said he saw Animesh Chakma running away through the back door of the house followed by the terrorists.
The armed men shot him repeatedly, he added.
A central committee member, Animesh Chakma did his masters at Rajshahi University. He played an important role in the founding of the United Peoples' Democratic Front (UPDF) in 1998 in the backdrop of the political demise of the Jana Samhati Samiti.
He served in various capacities in the Party and was elected a member of the central committee at its first national congress held in Dhaka in 2006. A few days ago he visited Sri Mongol and Sylhet districts to persuade members of other national minorities to take part in the upcoming convention in Dhaka. He was also scheduled to attend the convention along with other party leaders.
Condemning the cold blooded murder of Animesh and others, Rabi Shankar Chakma, General Secretary of the UPDF, said, "I talked to Animesh Chakma only about half an hour before the incident.
We were discussing about how our Party offices should be reorganized."
Ujjal Smriti Chakma, a central committee member of the UPDF, termed the incident as a "massacre" and demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment for the Santu group members responsible for it.
He alleged that Santu Larma and his armed gangs were continuing to kill innocent people at will with full backing from the army and the government.
Mr. Chakma urged the international human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to intervene with Mr. Santu Larma to stop human rights violations by his armed gangs.
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Human rights organizations often tend to consider the atrocities committed by Santu group as an internal affair of the Jumma people, conveniently overlooking the human rights issue attached to them." he said.
He continued: "Santu Larma is a part of the government since his party is in charge of the Regional Council headquartered in Rangamati. Therefore, he must be held to account for human rights violations being committed by his armed gangs in the same way as the LTTL in Sri Lanka is being held to account for its actions."
The killing of Animesh and others came just 37 days after the shooting dead by Santu group of Sona Muni Chakma, a member of the Rupayan Dewan-led faction of the JSS, and his two-year old daughter in Baghaichari.
The Santu group men also kidnapped Lenin Chakma, a leader of the Democratic Youth Forum, from the port city of Chittagong on 23 April. He has not been traced ever since and he is believed to have been killed.
According to UPDF, over two hundred of its members and supporters have been killed at the hands of the JSS (Santu group) over the last 12 years since 1998. The number is quite staggering, considering the size of the population of the Jumma people.
Protests:
UPDF and its front organizations held demonstrations in Dhaka, Khagrachari, Panchari, Dhiginala, Naniarchar, Kawkhali and Kudukchari to protest the killing.
The Party will also hold peaceful road and waterways blockade programmes on Monday, 23 May, in Rangamati district.
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