Dhaka to reconstruct prayer houses damaged in violence

DHAKA - The Bangladesh government has said it will reconstruct four prayer houses set ablaze during two days of violence against Buddhist tribals in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

Dipankar Talukdar, the minister in charge of the region that is home to the indigenous people, said this would be done “as soon as possible”.

He also promised action against those responsible within seven days, Star Online said Monday.

At least four prayer houses were burnt down, allegedly by Muslim settlers, in Gangaram Mukh area and nearby villages under Baghaichhari upazila (sub-district) in Rangamati during Saturday’s arson attack, the website of The Daily Star said.

A mosque and a church at Gangaram Mukh, a Buddhist temple at Maitreepur and another in guccha gram (cluster of villages) under Baghaichhari upazila in the district were set on fire.

Buddha Bhikkhu (Buddhist priest) Sumonalankar Mohathero said some 40-50 Bengali youths armed with hand-made weapons launched an attacked in the area Saturday afternoon.

The monk said the youths set fire to the temple. Religious leaders and disciples fled after a feud between indigenous people and security personnel.

Jyotsna Chakma, an indigenous woman from Gangaram Mukh area, said not only the church and the Buddha Vihar, but also a mosque was set on fire.

The gang also looted valuables from the temple and the church, said Jyotsna, a Buddhist.

CHT has witnessed recurring violence between the indigenous people and the Muslim Bengali speaking people settled as part of the policy of successive governments to control the turbulent area.

Although a Buddhist majority district, CHT was allocated to Pakistan when the British divided India in 1947.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had reached an accord with the tribals during her earlier tenure. Most provisions of the accord, however, remain to be enforced.

Withdrawing army camps is one such provision and its implementation has divided political opinion.

Main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) that had frozen the accord when it was in power is siding with the Muslim settlers.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, senior joint secretary general of BNP, said: “Army presence is essential for peaceful coexistence and security of all in Chittagong Hill Tracts.”

“The decision of army pullout was a blunder. We had expressed our concern at that time saying army withdrawal might invite catastrophic consequences,” he said and demanded re-evaluation of the CHT Peace Treaty.

However, the government and its allies and human rights groups want to continue with the accord.

Workers Party of Bangladesh, a member of the ruling alliance, and Ain o Salish Kendra, an NGO, expressed concern over the violence in the hill area.

Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, also a lawmaker, claimed the arson incident at Baghaichhari was the part of a conspiracy to foil the CHT treaty and to create unrest.