THE blanket arrest of Bawm people and their harassment in Bandarban as part of a joint security operation for their suspected involvement in the Kuki-Chin National Front, said to be responsible for attacks on banks and security facilities in the district between April 2 night and April 3 afternoon, appears problematic. The law enforcement agencies can, of course, arrest people there on specific charges in the interest of justice dispensation. But any improper measures could very well give rise to misgivings that might be troublesome in the long run for both the government and the people there. Security personnel are alleged to have shot at three Bawm people, including a young footballer, on May 19 when they were seeking shelter to avoid falling victim to the reported blanket arrest move.聽 Such operations, as rights activists think, should be carried out with caution and with steps that ensure the protection of ordinary people. But the way the security personnel is reported to be harassing and arresting people constitutes a serious violation of human rights. In such a situation, a group of democratically-oriented people held protests in Dhaka on May 20 where they demanded an end to such harassment of the Bawm people.
The group of people banded together as 鈥楽tudents, Teachers and People against Racial Oppression in Hills鈥�, at the protests that took place in front of the National Museum in Dhaka, said that such moves of the security personnel were creating a fearful situation among the Bawm people. The protesters said that the joint forces had so far arrested about 200 people in the cases that had been filed in connection with the April 2鈥�3 attacks on banks and security facilities there. While they urged meaningful moves to find out the perpetrators of the attacks and to hold them to justice, they demanded that the security of the civilians should in no way be jeopardised. Similar concern was also raised in the middle of April when 49 suspects were arrested as part of the joint operation in April 7鈥�8. The government should remain cautious about its operation against the Kuki-Chin National Front in that no ordinary citizens should be harassed by way of the operation. What earlier gave rise to further concern was that residents of the area were reported not to be able to buy more than five kilograms of rice each at a time as part of a measure to check against the stocking of food by Kuki-Chin National Front supporters. The upazila nirbahi officer then, however, brushed aside having set any limit on the purchase of rice, noting that some restrictions have been imposed to stop people not known to grocers from buying rice and other essential goods in the area. The joint forces operation and its ramifications could virtually constrain people鈥檚 life and living there.
The government must, therefore, be cautious in dealing with Bandarban issues to avoid any misgivings among the people living there about administration and security issues.
