April 25, 2002	Thursday	Safar 11, 1423

DHAKA: The first meeting between Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and the leaders of the Parbatya Chottagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS, the political arm of the now defunct Shanti Bahini, the armed tribal rebels) earlier this week carried special significance for reasons more than one.

First, this is the first time that the PCJSS leaders met Prime Minister Khaleda Zia who heads the current four-party coalition government for the first time since it came to power in October last year. The tribal leaders were carefully watching the new government’s policies on CHT (Chittagong Hilltracts) before finally deciding to meet the prime minister.

Second, The BNP chief who had opposed the peace accord signed between the CHT rebels and the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina in 1997 and vowed to scrap it when she would come to power has now as head of the government adopted a positive and forward-looking attitude on the issue instead.

Third, the PCJSS delegation led by Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma alias Shantu Larma, the co-signatory to the peace accord and the chairman of the CHT regional council, met the prime minister the day after two rival tribal groups fought a bloody battle that left two dead.

The United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) has been opposing the peace accord from the beginning and began to fight the PCJSS men in different parts of the hill region. Two tribal people were killed in a fresh fighting that erupted last Friday in Rangamati hill districts between the two groups. The UPDF leaders immediately blamed the PCJSS for the fight, though identity of those who were killed on Friday could not be established clearly.

Interestingly, the day the PCJSS leaders were talking to the prime minister (April 20), three activists of the UPDF were killed in another gunbattle with the PCJSS activists and their bodies were recovered from the Kaptai Lake on April 21. The timing of the new series of violent clashes between the two rival groups prompted some analysts to suggest that apprehending a patchup between the BNP-led government and the PCJSS leaders might have prompted the UPDF leaders to initiate the new move.

Through this initiative, the argument goes, the UPDF leaders, supported by the Awami League, tried to send a signal that it would not be easy for the PCJSS to reach an understanding with the BNP government bypassing them.

PCJSS chairman Shantu Larma always maintained that Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League chairperson, made a few promises to the PCJSS leaders verbally before signing the peace accord, which she never implemented. In fact, Shantu Larma himself accused the former AL government at a meeting with the press in late 2000 for not implementing what he called 90 per cent of the agreement. He also accused the AL government of propping up the UPDF to weaken the tribal unity.

The PCJSS leader raised two important issues his party considers vital part of the peace accord during his meeting with the prime minister. They are the total withdrawal of the armed forces from the Chittagong Hiltracts and making the Land Commission operational.

On her part, the prime minister has reportedly assured the PCJSS leaders of full cooperation to the local administration in the improvement and maintenance of peace and discipline for unhindered development of the CHT.

The most important issue before the PCJSS is the need to resolve the bitter conflicts between the two rival factions in the CHT. Unless they sort out issues themselves, they will not be able to present a unified face to the government to carry forward the agenda for peace and development in the region.