Staff Correspondent , CHT News
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
The United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) has described the statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) on October 27, 2025, regarding the conflict between local residents and the army over the establishment of a military camp in Barmachari under Lakshmichari Upazila of Khagrachari, as “false and distorted.”
In a statement given to the media today, Tuesday, October 28, 2025, UPDF spokesperson Aongay Marma made the remarks.
Aongay Marma stated that by issuing a statement full of lies from a state institution like ISPR, the reputation of the Bangladesh Army has been tarnished. He further said, “ISPR is trying to make UPDF a scapegoat to cover up the heinous crimes and failures of some army commanders deployed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Regarding the Barmachari incident, Aongay Marma said, “When the army forcibly tried to set up a camp on the land belonging to the monastery and villagers without permission, it was quite natural for conflicts to arise with the local residents. Moreover, by closing the public road, the army further inflamed the anger of the people. In this situation, the authorities of the Arjyo Kalyan Bana Vihara and the residents of Barmachari justifiably resorted to peaceful protests to protect their land and rights, and appealed for justice by submitting a memorandum to the authorities.”
Aongay Marma said, “UPDF is a political organization representing the interests of the people and has been conducting a democratic movement for the realization of rights for the past 27 years. Therefore, ISPR’s claim that the party has been maintaining an ‘armed camp in Barmachari for a long time’ and that the area is being used as a ‘route for arms smuggling’ is completely false, baseless, and motivated by ill intent.”
Stating that there is no leader or member named “Orchid Chakma” in UPDF, Aongay Marma said, “ISPR’s claim that UPDF leader Prasit Bikash Khisa instructed to organize a large religious event at the Arjyo Kalyan Bana Vihara with the intent of sabotage is entirely imaginary and shows disrespect toward the people’s religious sentiments. The truth is that the monastery management committee and local devotees themselves decided to organize the religious gathering, and UPDF leaders had no involvement in it.”
Aongay Marma dismissed ISPR’s accusation that UPDF leaders, “in collaboration with anti-state forces, foreign intelligence agencies, and international powers, are trying to destabilize the hilly region by pursuing the ‘politics of body bags’ and ‘hate politics,’” calling the allegations entirely fabricated, baseless, and malicious.
He said, “State terrorism, communal riots, and false propaganda are the regularly used military tools for suppressing the just movements of the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. These tactics have been used for decades, making life unbearable for the hill people.”
Referring to the recent incident at Ramesu Bazaar in Guimara, Aongay Marma said that after the arbitrary killing of three Marma youths by indiscriminate firing, ISPR is now conducting Goebbels-style propaganda to protect the guilty army commanders and is trying, in vain, to shift the blame for the murders onto others.
Claiming that UPDF itself is a victim of the state terrorism perpetrated by the army commanders deployed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the UPDF leader said, “To suppress UPDF, the army is using the JSS (Santu Larma group) and other vigilantes. Over the past 27 years, nearly 400 UPDF leaders, activists, and supporters have lost their lives at the hands of state forces and these vigilante groups.”
He further alleged that “by portraying the Chittagong Hill Tracts as unstable and conflict-ridden before the nation and the world at large, some army officers are seeking to ensure continued military presence in the hills for their own vested interests under the pretext of protecting the country’s integrity and sovereignty.” He called on the government and the people to remain vigilant in this regard.
Aongay Marma praised the senior military authorities for their “correct and realistic” decision to not build the camp in Barmachari in response to the people’s legitimate demands and urged them to show similar good sense by fulfilling the public demand to lift the de facto military rule from the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
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