chtnews.com
News No. 72/2010, March 28, 2010
The United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF) has urged the government to create a congenial atmosphere for the celebration of Boisabi, the largest traditional festival of the Jumma people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
In a press statement issued today, UPDF President Prasit Khisha said, “For the celebration of any festival one needs a healthy, normal and secured environment. But after the planned communal attacks in Sajek and Khagrachari, an overwhelming sense of fear is still prevailing among the Jumma people. The victims are being forced to live in starvation in the jungles and under the open sky. Neither could they come back to their own villages owing to fear; nor have they received compensation.
“On the other hand, neither have the perpetrators been arrested, nor has an enquiry committee been formed. Furthermore, for all practical purposes an undeclared state of emergency has been enforced in Khagrachari through imposing a ban on rallies and processions.
“In this circumstance, no sensible and conscious citizen is expected to participate in any merry-making festivities.”
Mr Khisha urged the government to ensure an congenial atmosphere for celebrating the festival by providing adequate compensation to the victims, arresting the perpetrators and constituting an enquiry committee and by restoring full democratic rights of the people and providing a guarantee that no further attacks would take place and no innocent person would be subjected to detention and torture in the future.
…………………………
