Ethnic people for protection of rights

The indigenous people of Bangladesh and human rights activists at a seminar yesterday demanded constitutional recognition of ethnic rights and wanted immediate end to the repression of minorities ahead of the World Indigenous Day on August 9. Speakers on the occasion urged the government to ensure ethnic rights on land and property, amending the constitution to form a separate land commission, to implement the United Nations’ declaration on the rights of indigenous people, to enact laws on their rights, to pacify land disputes according to the Hill Tracts Peace Accord and to officially recognise the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, held every August 9.
The seminar at CIRDAP auditorium, jointly organised by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum (BIPF), was attended by Sanjib Drong, General Secretary of BIPF, Robayet Ferdous, Associated Professor, of  Dhaka University and Rawshon Jahan Moni, Executive Director of ALRD, among others. Sanjeeb Drong said, “The country has not done enough for the indigenous minorities that form a rainbow of humanity. The democracy and religious harmony is invisible. We have miles to go before meeting our rights.”
“The practice of secularism as mentioned in the constitution is fragile. With the declaration of Islam as the state religion, the diversity in the country has been strangled,” said Robayet Ferdous. “Land for ethnic people is sacred. They have a spiritual relationship with rivers, hills and nature. But they are being deprived of these soulful things as there is celebration of grabbing land for prioritising housing and real estate projects and developing business structures and cantonments,” he added. The allocation of 997 acres land belonging to indigenous people to build a cantonment at Ramu in Bandarban district is one such example.
On January 24, some land-grabbers attacked a village in Parbatipur  of Dinajpur, looted valuables and sexually harassed women. A case was filed against 42 attackers, but no one has received any punishment yet.

Ethnic people for protection of rights

The indigenous people of Bangladesh and human rights activists at a seminar yesterday demanded constitutional recognition of ethnic rights and wanted immediate end to the repression of minorities ahead of the World Indigenous Day on August 9. Speakers on the occasion urged the government to ensure ethnic rights on land and property, amending the constitution to form a separate land commission, to implement the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous people, to enact laws on their rights, to pacify land disputes according to the Hill Tracts Peace Accord and to officially recognise the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples, held every August 9. The seminar at CIRDAP auditorium, jointly organised by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum (BIPF), was attended by Sanjib Drong, General Secretary of BIPF, Robayet Ferdous, Associated Professor, of Dhaka University and Rawshon Jahan Moni, Executive Director of ALRD, among others. Sanjeeb Drong said, The country has not done enough for the indigenous minorities that form a rainbow of humanity. The democracy and religious harmony is invisible. We have miles to go before meeting our rights. The practice of secularism as mentioned in the constitution is fragile. With the declaration of Islam as the state religion, the diversity in the country has been strangled, said Robayet Ferdous. Land for ethnic people is sacred. They have a spiritual relationship with rivers, hills and nature. But they are being deprived of these soulful things as there is celebration of grabbing land for prioritising housing and real estate projects and developing business structures and cantonments, he added. The allocation of 997 acres land belonging to indigenous people to build a cantonment at Ramu in Bandarban district is one such example. On January 24, some land-grabbers attacked a village in Parbatipur of Dinajpur, looted valuables and sexually harassed women. A case was filed against 42 attackers, but no one has received any punishment yet.