Langadu Correspondent, CHT News
Saturday, 23 August 2025
At a meeting held with elders from several villages at Barkolok High School in Langadu upazila of Rangamati, a leader of the JSS (Santu group) said, “Now is the right time to start a movement for implementing the Accord.”
However, people are no longer willing to believe such statements.
In response to his remarks, some of the elders present at the meeting proposed a joint movement involving all groups, including the UPDF. But the Santu group leaders avoided the question of a united movement, saying, “If any understanding is reached with the UPDF, they later violate it.”
The meeting was held on 22 August 2025. Despite their reluctance, several elders from the villages of Paglichara, Kukichara, Kijingchara, Perachara, North Barkolok, and Barkolok were compelled to attend.
Representing the Santu group were Moni Shankar Chakma, secretary of the Langadu upazila branch; Sujoy Chakma, president of their student wing at the upazila level; and armed group commanders Dheba and Deepto.
Santu group leaders stated: “The government will not implement the Accord. Now we are taking the initiative to implement it ourselves. Action will be taken against anyone who stands in the way of implementing the Accord.”
They told the elders that they were prepared to face any challenge, saying, “Now is the right time for a movement to implement the Accord. We must seize this opportunity.”
Speaking to CHT News under the condition of anonymity for security reasons, one elder from Barkolok village said, “I had to attend the meeting against my will. Going to their meetings is just a waste of time. But what can we do? We have to go. Everyone wants to live.”
He added, “In the past 27 years, they have not launched any movement for the implement of the Accord. They only talk about it, but their actions contradict their words. If someone says they’re going to Rangamati but instead head toward Baghaichari, who would believe them? The Santu group talks about a movement, yet their leaders sit comfortably in the Regional Council, and they kill those who actually fight against the government — who should be their allies in implementing the Accord. No one truly committed to the movement would ever do this.”
Another elder, agreeing with his statement, said, “Our ears are sore from hearing the Santu group talk about starting a movement for the Accord. The world could end, and they still wouldn’t start a movement. They are using these words to mislead us. I don’t believe them at all.”
He questioned, “How can you lead a movement while cozying up to the government and mingling with the army? How can you talk about implementing the Accord after killing your own people and waging war against your own brothers without cause? This is madness!”
When asked about the Santu group’s accusation that the UPDF violates agreements, Bishal Chakma, organizer of the UPDF’s Langadu upazila unit, responded, “The Santu group leaders are experts at lying, from top to bottom. It is not us — they are the ones who repeatedly violated the terms of agreements. They broke the pacts made in 2000, 2006, 2007, and 2018.”
He added that the last agreement with the Santu group was in 2018, which included a clause that neither party would enter the other’s organizational territory. “But within a year or two, they violated the terms by entering our areas in Panchari and Dighinala and began harassing us. That’s not all — later, they sparked a new round of fratricidal conflict by cold-bloodedly killing Jibon Tripura in Narichari.”
Bishal Chakma said that the UPDF is still willing to support the Santu group if it genuinely starts a movement to implement the Accord. “But they do nothing except act as government agents, serve the army, and shoot their own brothers.”
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