Political unity needed to implement CHT Peace Accord: Speakers

Political consensus is needed to implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, which was needed to establish Bangladesh as a democratic state, speakers said today (23 December).

Speaking at a solidarity meeting in Dhaka Reporter Unity's Nasrul Hamid Auditiorum to mark the first anniversary of the CHT Peace Accord Implementation Movement, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh Ruhin Hossain Prince said those who signed the Accord could not be expected to implement it. 

"Because, to implement this agreement, there must be political consensus first."

He said this consensus was still lacking.

Zakir Hossain, joint coordinator of the movement, said it had been 25 years since the accord was passed.

"We see that the main clauses of the Accord have not been implemented. Therefore, we have developed this platform to speed up the movement to implement the accord at the greater level, including civil society and progressive political parties."

Shamsul Huda, executive director of Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), said the government had signed the accord, whether voluntarily or under pressure. 

"But if this agreement is not implemented, we will be cheating as a nation. On the other hand, it is important to implement this to establish the rights of the hill people."

Joint Coordinator and Professor of Dhaka University Dr Khairul Islam Chowdhury said there was no alternative to implementing the accord to establish Bangladesh as a democratic state.

Last year, the CHT Peace Accord Implementation Movement made its debut as a platform of progressive civil society, political parties, to accelerate the implementation process of the Peace Accord in a political and peaceful way.