Agartala: The Chakma tribals of Tripura on Monday sent a memorandum to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, demanding security and compensation to the Bangladesh riot victims in Rangamati area of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
Before submitting a memorandum to the Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Agartala, hundreds of Chakmas held a protest rally against “atrocities on minority Buddhists and Hindus in Southern Bangladesh during the last month.”
The memorandum alleged as many as 80 Buddhist families fell victim to the attacks while 24 non-Muslim religious places, including two temples, had been demolished in the areas.
The miscreants threatened to evict the Buddhists and Hindu minorities from the area after the attack, which resulted in tension in the region.
Allegedly, the perpetrators had attacked the families in presence of Bangladesh military.
The memorandum urged that an immediate and independent enquiry be ordered into the incidents along with demands for re-building the religious places, adequate compensation to the victims and implementation of Chakma peace accord signed on December 2, 1997.
The agitators have also sent a copy of the memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chairman of National Human Rights Commission Justice K G Balakrishnan with a request to pursue the matter with their Bangladeshi counterparts.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Buddhist Chakmas and Hindus on Monday demonstrated before the Bangladesh Visa office here protesting against the recent attack on their communities in Chittagong Hill Tract of Bangladesh.
The Buddhists and Hindus of different organisations like Chakma Youth Cultural Forum (CYCF) and Viswa Hindu Parishad walked in a procession chanting slogans like ‘Stop state terrorism on Buddhists and Hindus in Bangladesh’ and ‘Arrest the Muslim fundamentalists who attacked Hindu and Buddhist temples’.
Later they submitted a memorandum to the Bangladesh Government through the First Secretary of Bangladesh Visa Office here urging the government to stop repetition of such attacks.
Visa Officer, Obaidur Rehaman when contacted, said a six Member delegation of the Buddhists and Hindus submitted the memorandum in “a very cordial atmosphere” for dispatching it to the government. (Agencies)