Bangladesh Army has drawn attention of the top policymakers of the government so that steps could be taken to avoid an undesirable situation like East Timur and Southern Sudan in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Bangladesh Army headquarters sources said that the regional political parties and terrorists active in the CHT have been procuring arms from Myanmar and India. Army headquarters has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in the CHT and made a number of proposal in this regard at a meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order held at the home ministry recently. Abul Kalam Azad, Minister for Information, who was present in the meeting said ambassadors of different countries are visiting the CHT frequently. Foreign journalists and other people often visit the CHT and we suspect that there must be a secret agenda of the foreigners centering over the CHT, he said adding the office of the prime minister, important ministries and head offices of different law enforcement agencies were informed about the prevailing situation in last February. State Minister for Home Advocate Shamsul Hoq Tuku important decisions have been taken in the meeting so that peace, stability and coexistence could be maintained in the CHT. Recommendations were made as per the proposals of the Army. Anti-peace treaty quarters are trying to create an anarchic situation there, he added. Mentionable that East Timur and Southern Sudan were indivisible parts of Indonesia and Sudan respectively. East Timur and Southern Sudan were separated from the two Muslim majority countries and created two independent states. According to the minutes of the meeting, a representative of the Army informed the meeting about the present situation in the CHT and urged the government to put political pressure on the regional parties, so that a peaceful situation could be maintained there. Referring to East Timur and Southern Sudan, the Army headquarters said, secessionist movement started there about 75 / 80 years ago. To avoid such undesirable incident the issue should be discussed at the policy making level immediately. The Army representative also said the terrorists of the CHT get their arms from a number of groups active in Myanmar. Indian terrorists also sell arm to them. He further said land related issues are big problem in the CHT which need to be resolved amicably. Representative of the defence intelligence told the meeting that the foreign journalists can collect information on CHT through internet. From the lists of the officers and employees appointed by the donor agencies including the UNDP, it is clear that in most cases the converted tribal Christians are being rehabilitated by them. The local and foreign conspirators are taking the advantage of their poverty to achieve their target.
