Translated from Daily Janakantha dated 09/18/02
Tofail Ahmed, Coxbazaar. The violence unleashed
in the last few days by local Muslims who enjoy the support of
the ruling coalition in
Bangladesh has left a brutal toll in the coastal hilly track Chakma
locality of Madarbania situated in the Ukhia subdistrict of Coxbazaar
in
Bangladesh. The entire Chakma menfolk have fled the village. An
eerie silence prevails in Madarbania which is now completely bereft
of human life save that of
some elderly women who themselves are spending sleepless nights
over fears of fresh attacks. Since the attackers had even carried
away livestock and
poultry along with any moveable property that they could lay their
hands on after ransacking the village, even the moos of cows or
the crows of
roosters that could pierce the silence are hardly heard in this
deserted village. It is clear that the eviction of Chakmas by
their land grabbing neighbours
has been carried out according to a plan; such eviction operations
have been quite frequent for some time.
Madarbania, located on the southernmost tip of Jalia Palong Union
is a remote village in a forested land with the sea on one side
and hills on
the other. One can reach this remote village only by jeep because
of the difficult terrain. Even the nearest police station situated
in Ukhia
township is 30 kms away. Some 50 Chakma families had made this
village their home, maintaining their subsistence by selling forest
products, fishing
and engaging in small scale farming in the rocky soil. The families
had even constructed a reasonably big temple in the neighborhood
for community
worship. A cyclone that ravaged the locality in 1994 however destroyed
the temple. Owing to lack of funds at that time the Chakma community
could
not rebuild the temple. They moved their place of worship to a
smaller temple that they built in some other area in the village.
The plot of land
where the cyclone hit temple once stood fell vacant for a few
years.
Neighborhood kids however made use of the vacant land to play
soccer, however it quickly became a bone of contention and the
centerpiece of a dispute once the
Chakma community decided to rebuild the destroyed temple. A local
Muslim opposed the Chakmas for quite some time on this issue.
The local Awami League
MP had however managed to reconcile the feuding parties to some
extent when the Awami League governed Bangladesh. However after
the political coalition
that is ruling Bangladesh presently came to power some local Muslims
once again renewed their attempts to grab the plot of land from
the Chakmas.
Matters came to a head on September 11, 2002 when the Chakma community
proceeded to lay the foundations of a temple structure on this
plot of land. Word
spread quickly in the neighbourhood. Soon some 150-200 local Muslims
armed with sticks and rods assembled at the site to obstruct the
laying of the
foundation structure. The ensuing clash that was fought with rods,
sticks and scythes resulted in the death of a local Muslim, Abdullah.
Murder charges were filed against 22 Chakmas implicating them
for the death of Abdullah. Since the death of Abdullah, local
Muslims with support
from political activists in the ruling coalition have engaged
in looting of Chakma property including cattle, goats and poultry,
as well as rape of
women and eviction of Chakmas from the area. Three married women
and a teenage girl were allegedly raped in the Chakma neighborhood
by Muslim
youth. Making political capital of Abdullah’s murder, eight
Chakmas were subjected to inhuman torture before being handed
over to the police.
Jatika Chakma (35) and Angputhaing (30) who fled the area fearing
attacks by local Muslims and police arrest have mentioned that
even women and children
are being subjected to numerous atrocities by ruling coalition
activists.
On the other hand the police have informed that they have sent
personnel to Madarbania to restore normalcy.
Translated from Daily Janakantha dated 09/18/02
Staff reporter, Cox Baxaar. A Chakma woman has
finally come forward to testify in the Coxbazaar District court
about brutalities committed
against the Chakma community of Madarbania, a remote village in
the hillytrack Ukhia subdistrict of Coxbazaar. Chanio Chakma (30),
a mother of 4 children
provided a detailed account of the attacks that activists of the
ruling coalition in Bangladesh have carried out against members
of her community to
journalists who talked to her when she came to testify in the
District Court. Chanio narrowly escaped being a victim of the
brutalities herself, however most
of the other women in her Chakma locality were less fortunate.
The level of sexual violence against Chakma women by the attackers
have reached such inhumane levels that even a woman in her seventh
month of
pregnancy was not spared, the fragile mental state that Chanio
displayed while providing an eye-witness account in court is also
testimony to this fact.
A communal clash between the Chakmas and local Muslims in Madarbania
on September 11 in which a Muslim named Abdullah died started
the round of
atrocities that Chanio mentioned. The village itself is a located
in Ukhia sub district, in a track of land between the sea and
hills and is approximately 35 kms from the main Ukhia township.
It is home to some 50/60 Chakma families. Neighboring Muslims
live on a flatter piece of land bordering the sea. The Chakmas
had constructed a large wooden temple a
number of years ago for community worship in their neighborhood,
however a cyclone in 1991 brought that temple down. Since they
did not have funds to rebuild the temple at that time, they moved
their place of worship to a smaller temple, which they hastily
constructed, to some other location in the neighborhood.
The plot of land in which the original temple stood then fell
vacant. It came to be used as a soccer playground by Chakma and
Muslim kids in the village. When the Chakma community decided
to rebuild the cyclone devastated temple in its original site
earlier this month, they found out that local Muslims led by activists
of the ruling coalition in Bangladesh were
opposed to this idea. The Chakmas began laying the foundation
of the temple on September 11. A communal clash soon followed
as some armed local Muslims showed up to obstruct the construction.
After a Muslim man named Abdullah died during the clash, the Muslims
led by Mohammed Haq, Abul Hasem, Abdul Jaleel, Hasan Baila, Jahangir
and others started attacking the Chakma neighborhood day and night
on a regular basis. Since the entire Chakma menfolk were implicated
in the murder of Abdulah, they all fled the village
out of fear of getting arrested. With the menfolk gone, brutalities
were heaped on Chakma women. Many of them were raped or molested.
The attackers once even broke into Chanio Chakma’s hut during
the night and attempted to rape her. She survived the ordeal by
putting up a stiff resistance but was beaten up badly by eleven
men, almost all of who were ruling coalition activists.
The attackers have since then carried away all the livestock that
the Chakmas had and have prevented any women from getting out
of the village.
Chanio Chakma on Tuesday filed a case against 11 of the attackers
citing an act relating to cruelty to women and children. The District
Court in Ukhia has asked the police to submit an investigative
report by October 2nd.
The District Administrator and Police Superintendent are known
to have visited Madarbania after a week since the brutalities
began following the clash on September 11.