Authors: Nutun Kumar Chakma, Sachib Chakma, Ujjwal Smriti Chakma, Shantideb Chakma, Pradipon Khisa, Ratan Basu, Angya Marma, Ziko Tripura, Konika Dewan, Sunayan Chakma, Sunil Tripura, Niti Shova Chakma.
This article was first published in
2022. It is being republished now as its relevance continues. — Editor
Discussing the 1986 Mizoram Accord,
Indian Brigadier Sushil Kumar Sharma stated: “…it is not an accord that
brings peace but the process it is part of.” (Lessons from Mizoram
Insurgency and Peace Accord 1986, by Brigadier Sushil Kumar Sharma: Vivekananda
International Foundation, occasional paper – June 2016). That is to say, an
agreement alone cannot bring peace; rather, the process of which the agreement
is a part is crucial for establishing peace. Many other accords like the
Mizoram Accord have been signed in Northeast India, but only this one has been
successful in establishing peace. According to Sushil Kumar Sharma, one of the
primary reasons was the ability of the MNF (the Mizo organization that signed
the accord) to adapt to the democratic political process. The MNF respected
public opinion and did not return to the jungle even after being rejected in
elections. After surrendering their weapons, they did not engage in any further
violence. On the other hand, the Government of India also fulfilled its responsibilities
in the accord, granted Mizoram statehood with its own High Court, and stopped
counter-insurgency operations. Brigadier Sharma says, “sincerity and
commitment of all parties is a must for the success of an accord.”
In our Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT),
what has happened in the accord process is exactly the opposite of Mizoram. For
this reason, even though nearly 25 years have passed since the signing of the
CHT Accord on December 2, 1997, peace remains a distant dream in the hills. The
sky of the CHT is clouded by the dark shadows of unrest. Fresh lives are being
sacrificed repeatedly in bloody conflicts. The lack of democratic consciousness
between the signatories to the Accord—the Government and the JSS—is the root cause
of this conflict, bloodshed, and unrest.
If JSS leader Santu Larma could have
shown political wisdom and respect for democratic ideals and values like the
visionary leaders of Mizoram, the situation in the CHT today would have been
different. But instead of accepting the right of others to express their
opinions, he took "harsh" measures to suppress
"anti-accord" elements. He said, “Two tigers cannot live in one
forest.” Then, in November 2002 at the JSS National Congress in Khagrachari,
they decided to “strictly confront and eliminate” the UPDF (Clause 17 of the
33-point resolution adopted at the Congress). Before that, on November 13,
2000, in an interview with Jugantor, he indirectly ordered the killing
and wounding of "anti-accord" individuals. When the interviewer,
journalist Sagar Sarwar (late), asked if he would confront the UPDF
politically, he said:
“Not politically. They must be
strangled to death, so that they can do nothing. Their hands must be broken so
they cannot write. Their legs must be broken so they cannot walk. Their eyes
must be blinded so they cannot see. Those who are in favor of the accord and
the rights of the people will do this.”
These words and resolutions were not
limited to talk and paper. He truly implemented his orders. In the post-accord
period, the first victims of his politics of murder were former Pahari Gono
Parishad leader Pradip Lal Chakma and former Pahari Chhatra Parishad leader and
Panchari UP Chairman Kusum Priyo Chakma. They were hacked to death in broad
daylight on the road at Nalkata in Panchari on April 4, 1998. Subsequently,
UPDF supporter Nibaranjan Chakma was killed in Betachari on January 21, 1999;
Harendra Dewan and Hurukya Chakma at Alutila on February 3, 1999; and Anandamay
Chakma and Mrinal Kanti Chakma in Dighinala on February 8, 1999. But it did not
end there; this list of murders grew longer and longer. According to the UPDF’s
Human Rights Monitoring Cell, 262 of their members and supporters have lost
their lives at the hands of JSS (Santu) in the last 24 years.
What was the government's role in
this orgy of murder by the JSS? The government was not just a silent spectator
or a "partner in crime"; the police and army themselves continued to
carry out killings, arrests, and political repression against the
"anti-accord" UPDF in equal measure. On April 22, 1999, when they
came to join a rally of the Pahari Gono Parishad and Hill Women's Federation,
police opened fire and killed Pratul Chakma and Suramani Chakma. On July 29,
1999, UPDF member Nayanmoni Chakma was killed by army gunfire in Karalyachari.
In 1999, the JSS and police foiled the UPDF's founding anniversary program in
Chittagong city. The government arrested one after another of our members and
supporters without any crime and detained them in jail without trial. After
bringing the JSS to their side through the CHT Accord, the government sought to
destroy the UPDF in its infancy in tendem with the JSS to ensure no other
movement could arise in the future. In this way, the JSS and government forces
created extreme unrest in the hills through murder and terror. The CHT
Commission, in its 4th update of the report Life is Not Ours published
in 2000, recorded information on this persecution and torture carried out
against UPDF members in the few years following the accord.
In these dire times, the UPDF
carried out its struggle primarily by relying on the people. At that time, the
UPDF was like a newborn child, while those who wanted to finish it were
powerful like monsters. In this situation, just as a loving mother protects her
child, the people of the CHT shielded and protected the UPDF. Otherwise, it
would never have been possible for the party to survive and gain new strength.
JSS leader Santu Larma did not just
attack the UPDF. The fire of unrest he lit outside eventually entered his own
house and charred his own party. In JSS, Santu Babu is a dictator. He is
everything; everything runs on his word. He does not only suppress the dissent
of "anti-accord" elements, but he also does not tolerate dissent
within his own party. Consequently, while trying to suppress dissent within the
party, the JSS split in two around 2005-06. Notably, because of his dictatorial
fascist behavior, the JSS had previously split into the Lamba-Badi groups in
1983. At that time, countless revolutionary patriotic fighters of both groups
lost their lives prematurely in bloody clashes. This caused ultimate ruin for
the movement for the right to self-determination.
Recently, he has once again ignited
the fire of fratricidal conflict. Although he lit this fire to harm and destroy
others, it will actually burn and finish him. This is because he has not
learned any lessons from the past and has not corrected himself. The UPDF he
wants to destroy has done no wrong, nor has it caused him any harm. He himself
has violated the understanding reached between the two parties. He has
repeatedly broken the promise that he would not attack the UPDF. The public
will never accept or tolerate this extreme injustice he is committing against
the UPDF.
We no longer have any expectations
from JSS leader Santu Larma. He is beyond correction. It is futile to expect
political wisdom and foresight like the Mizo leaders from him. However, we do
have hopes and words for other leaders and workers of the JSS.
First: Just as you want the betterment of the nation and the
people, so do we. If it is not a fault for you to want the betterment of the
nation and people, why should it be a fault or a crime if the UPDF wants it and
works for it?
Second: We are members of the same nation, and even relatives of
each other. Did we not fight together before the accord? Did we not shake the
streets with sky-rending slogans? No matter how many misunderstandings there
are between us, this truth can never be falsified. We must not forget that we
are partners in the same struggle.
Third: There may be disagreements between you and us, but they are
non-antagonistic and natural. Is there not even the slightest difference of
opinion within your own party on certain issues? Because of this difference of
opinion, how can you want to take our lives? And why should we only look at our
differences? Why should we not see the similarities between us, and the
glorious chapter of our unified struggle in the past?
Fourth: Just as you have the right to organize and hold opinions,
so do we. If anyone tries to take away that right, you protest. Now, if you
want to take away that same right from us, why should it be a fault if we
protest?
Fifth: The UPDF has never considered you enemies, and still
doesn't. It is very sad that where you and we should be fighting shoulder to
shoulder, today there is division and enmity among ourselves. This is
absolutely unbearable to us. In Bengali movies, there is often such a story:
due to the conspiracy of an interested group, misunderstandings occur between
two brothers, followed by resentment and conflict. Then, while trying to harm
each other, they both come close to losing everything, while their "friend-like"
enemies benefit. Later, through various events, they realize their mistakes and
identify the real conspirators. Consequently, they become one again and peace
returns to the family. Will the misunderstandings between us never end? Will
there be no union between brother and brother?
One more sad thing must be said.
After the accord, when Santu Babu was unjustly launching one attack after
another on the UPDF, other JSS leaders—whom we respected and revered
greatly—did not protest. They even allowed Santu Babu to approve the proposal to
eliminate the UPDF at the Congress without any rational discussion or review.
Later, it was seen that the injustice they had accepted against the UPDF
eventually victimized them as well. Even veteran revolutionaries like Chandra
Shekhar Chakma and skilled organizers like Sudirgha Chakma had to lose their
lives brutally. If you accept the unjust attacks that Santu Larma has recently
restarted against the UPDF and do not protest this injustice, where is the
guarantee that you will not have to suffer the consequences one day?
Furthermore, you are accountable to
the nation and the people just as we are. You also have a responsibility to
stop the conflict. You cannot avoid this responsibility in any way. We want to
ask you: is the JSS the sole property of Santu Babu? Why should the party run
only on his word? Does your opinion have no importance? If you do not protest,
the people will assume that you also consent to this unjust, irrational, and
irresponsible attack against the UPDF and this fratricidal conflict.
Finally, I want to say that Santu
Babu failed to show the generosity and democratic values of Mizo leaders after
the accord; there is no use regretting that now. The past will not return. But
so that the future is not like the past—that is, so that the nation is not torn
apart by bloody conflict—you and we can do something right now. We have
extended our hand from our side; our expectation is that you will fulfill your
responsibility. Our unfortunate nation no longer wants to see brothers killing
brothers. It wants to see brothers fighting as one, shoulder to shoulder. (End)
Signatories:
1.
Nutun Kumar Chakma, Vice President,
UPDF; 2. Sachib Chakma, Member, Central Committee, UPDF; 3. Ujjwal Smriti
Chakma, Member, Central Committee, UPDF; 4. Shantideb Chakma, Member, Central
Committee, UPDF; 5. Pradipon Khisa, Member, Central Committee, UPDF; 6. Ratan
Basu, Chief Organizer (Matiranga-Guimara-Manikchari-Ramgarh-Lakshmichari
region), UPDF; 7. Angya Marma, President, Democratic Youth Forum; 8. Ziko
Tripura, General Secretary, Democratic Youth Forum; 9. Konika Dewan, President,
CHT Women's Association; 10. Sunayan Chakma, President, Pahari Chhatra
Parishad; 11. Sunil Tripura, General Secretary, Pahari Chhatra Parishad; 12.
Niti Shova Chakma, President, Hill Women's Federation.
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