CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS
FIGHTING FOR OWN RIGHTS Home Contact Site Directories Privacy/Security
On 8 May 1986
The Bangladesh Army motivated by religious fanaticism attacked "Navajyoti Buddhist Vihara" (Navajyoti Buddhist Temple) at Lalyaghona Village in Baghaichari Upazilla (sub district), destroyed and desecrated the temple by breaking down one of the images. It's part of the systematic pattern of the Bangladesh military's attack against the religious minorities of the country. Religious fundamentalism and intolerance to the religious minorities are on the rise in Bangladesh in general and military in particular. Religious persecution and destruction of places of worship is commonplace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Religious persecution takes place in the form of torture, murder, intimidation of the monks of the Buddhist, Hindu and Christian faiths and deliberate and systematic destructions of places of worship. The following information is just a small fraction of the Bangladesh (BD) Government organised religious persecution committed against the Jumma people of the CHT.
25 April l996
Havildar Mohammad Aziz & his Armymen from Shan- tila Army Camp under the control of the Panchari Military Zone raided Milan Shakti Bouddha (Buddhist) Vihar (Temple) at Pujgang Mukh village under the jurisdiction of Panchari Polic Station ithin Khagrachari District in order to desecrate the non-Muslim places of worship as part of the Bangladesh (BD) Government's Bangladeshization and Islamisation of the CHT Scheme. These Military fanatics broke the head of an image of the Buddha with their rifle butts and and threw down the rest of the image on the floor. Then, they kicked with their boots on the head of another image of the Buddha to topple it.Having been seriously hurt by such blatant attack on their Temple, the Jumma people requested the local Thana (Police Station) Nirbahi (Administrative) Officer (TNO), the Deputy Commissioner of Khagrachari District, and so on to stop religiouspersecution and also to punish the Military culprits. At the same time, the Panchari Branch of the Hill Students Council demonstrated to protest at the planned desecration of the Temple and demanded immediate arrest and open trial of the Military errorists and criminals. Needless to say, the BD Government had not taken any actions against the military culprits. However, Lt. Col. Mohammad Mati, the Commander of the Panchari Military Zone, inspected the Temple, saw the broken images of the Buddha and the bootmarks of the soldiers on the floor for himself, and asked the Monks and the Jummas to keep their mouths shut
21 May, l996
The BD Army personnel of the 17 EBR from the Marishya Milltary Zone Headquarters lead by Maj. Anwar, Second-In-Command of the said Zonal HQ, and Lt. Ferdous (the Commanaer of Ugalahari Army Camp), the Army troops from the Khagrachari Brigade Headquarters led by Maj. Tareq, and the BDR personnel from Old Lankar BDR Camp led by Capt. Mohammad Khayer (the Commander of the BDR Camp at Old Lankar) jointly attacked Jumma Bazaar in Old Lankar area bordering the Mizoram State of India and burnt down all the shops (belonged to the Jumma People). Then, on their way back to Old Lankar BDR Camp, they torched 19 Jumma houses at Lakshmiban Karbari Para village (in halchara area) and 16 Jumma houses at Reboti Karbari Para village in Sajek Union under the jurisdiction of Baghaichari Police Station within Rangamati District.
At Lakshmiban Karbari Para village, these Military terrorists and Islamic zealots desecrated the local Buddhist Temple, broke the images of the Buddha into pieces, stole the money from the Temple Donation Box and set the Temple on fire. Similarly, they also set the local Primary School alight. After that, these Military arsonists set ablaze a Jumma house in Dhebachari area of the Lankar region.
6 December 1995
The soldiers of the newly brought-in 4th Field Artillery Group from Kachchaptali Army Camp under the control of the Bandarban Military Zone conducted a search-operation to capture the Shanti Bahini (SB) personnel in Kachchaptali ouza within Bandarban District. During the operation, they thoroughly searched Nathakgiri Bouddha Vihar (Buddhist Temple) and Liragaon Bouddha Vihar (Buddhist Temple). Having found no SB personnel, nor arms and ammunitions in the Temples, the Military fanatics interrogated the Monks in a very humiliating manner and desecrated the images of the Buddha proving their profound contempt for all non-Islamic religions.
25 June 1995
Lt. Ferdous, the Commander of Bara Kojoichari Mukh Bangladesh Army Camp, and his soldiers conducted a campaign in the entire area starting from Battali and Ugalchari of Marishya to Kojoichari in order to apprehend the members of the Shanti Bahini. Having found no trace of the Shanti Bahini in the area, they attacked the local Buddhist Temple, desecrated the images of Lord Buddha, looted all valuable property, interrogated the Monk and other devotees, and tortured them during interrogation. Among the victims were: i) The Buddhist Monk of the Temple, ii) Mr. Sapya Chakma (22), a devotee and the son of Mr. Narad Muni Chakma, iii) Mr. Dhana Ram Chakma (45), a devotee and the son of Mr. Bar Dhama Chakma and so forth.
Developed and maintained by Sugata Talukder