Agartala, Jun 25, 2024, Manas Pal
Chittagong Hill Tracts or CHT in Bangladesh adjoining Tripura always remain ‘hot’. It is one of the most violence-ridden places in the region with multifaceted conflicts surfacing time and again with tailspin effects. Sometimes it is a violent clash between the Jumma communities and the Bangladesh army, sometimes it is between Jumma Communities and Bengali settlers, sometimes it is among rival Jumma groups themselves, sometimes it is other minority communities like Kuki-Chins and Bangladesh army and so on. Added to their own internal problems now Bangladesh is facing an added headache – a staggering 860,175 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar are now settled in 35 camps in Chittagong under severe inhuman conditions.
All these violence, conflicts, clashes and crises do have an impact in the entire region, especially North East India in general and Tripura in particular, with a ‘spillover impact’. In fact, North Eastern states, Tripura in particular, have always been the destination for the spill over as thousands of refugees from CHT following violence came over here and took shelter.
For example since 1986 as many as 60, 000 Chakma ( Jumma) refugees came to Tripura following an armed conflict between Shanti Bahini and the Bangladesh army. They returned after the peace agreement between PCJSS and the Bangladesh government in 1996.
And, at present with the overflowing Rohingya Muslims camps –which are devoid of basic facilities, experiencing sexual assaults on women, poverty and hunger causing an unbearable situation, what Tripura witnesses is the detention of Rohingya Muslims –especially women – almost every day in the state on their way to other parts of the country.
What is in store can be very well understood from a report which says, Rohingya women make up approximately 67 percent of the refugee population and are victims of sexual violence and exploitation.
Of the 335,670 female refugees in the population, 70,000 (20%) are estimated to be pregnant or new mothers. This pregnancy rate is much higher than that of their native Myanmar where only 4.7 per cent of women are pregnant or new mothers.
The Bangladesh Home Ministry states that a staggering 90% of female refugees have been victims of rape. (Hutchinson, Susan (2 January 2018). "Gendered insecurity in the Rohingya crisis". Australian Journal of International Affairs.)
There is now one new development to worry about. The internecine infights of the Rohingya militant outfits who are active in Bangladesh camps.
It is in this backdrop that we produce three reports that may shed some light as to what is happening in CHT/ Rohingya Camps, for what Tripura must remain alert.
1. Infights among Chakma groups.
On June 8 at around 7:30 pm, a member of UPDF- Prasit group was shot dead by PCJSS (Santu Larma) group in Hatimara area bordering Panchari Upazila of Khagrachari. The UPDF- Prasit group activist Barun Bikash Chakma (55) son of Sudhir Kumar Chakma was living in Kamal Krishna Karbari Para (Hatimara) of Ward No. 2 of Logang Union of Panchari, though he was originally a resident of Pagujjechari. The UPDF's spokesperson Aongya Marma confirmed the murder.
It was reported that Barun Bikash returned home from a local shop when three armed men of the Santu Larma Group (JSS) who had been keeping a close watch on him, entered the house and shot him dead. It is learned that after that, they moved towards the Simana Para areas. On their way, they also fired blanks. Sources said, at least one of the assailants was identified as Tungulo Chakma, a resident of Dhudhukchara. He is a member of PCJSS (Santhu Larma Group).
What is intriguing is that some highly placed sources indicated that some of PCJSS ( Santu Larma) members were reported to have been seen in Agartala recently and in all likelihood they had come for some sort of meeting. They went back.
2.Infighting among Rohingya Muslims
Last week, at least three Rohingya Muslims were killed in clashes between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) over the dominance of Rohingya camps in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar. Three others were seriously injured. The incidents took place in Camp-04/X:, Block-F on June 10 last at around 4 am in the morning.
The killings quite expectedly sparked off huge sensation in the overflowing Rohingya camps and many believe that such violence might trigger more cross-border movements of the camp inmates toward Tripura.
It is learnt that on June 10 early morning, heavily armed RSO members killed an ARSA supporter. In retaliation, ARSA killed two RSO members.
Sources from across the border said, the RSO members first shot and stabbed ARSA member Md. Ilyash (31) with sharp weapons on his hands, legs and lower abdomen. He died on the spot.
As the murder news spread ARSA gunmen in the camp arrived on the spot and shot at Md Ishaq (54), Firoze Khan (28), Abdul Haque (32), Abdus Shukkur (55) and stabbed Abdul Monaf (60) with sharp weapons.
When they were brought to Ukhia Health Complex, the doctor pronounced Md. Ishaq (54) and Firoz Khan (28) dead. The attending doctor then referred the other three to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital for better treatment.
It is learnt that Md. Ilyash used to act as ARSA's source in the Rohingya camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar . He was asked by the RSO members to pass them information too what Ilyash declined, resulting in his death.
The murders also brought to the fore how Rohingya Muslims had been active and desperate to bring the camps under their control. The natural consequences would then be more violence, more deaths, more injuries and more cross border movements.
(Pic taken from open source Internet)