Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), which signed a peace accord with the Bangladesh government in 1997 to end decades of insurgency, has made a set of demands in wake to recent communal clashes in three hill districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), located in close proximity to Tripura. The PCJSS, the apex body of the indigenous people, commonly known as Jummas, has accused Bangladesh government forces and Bengali “settlers” of causing the clashes resulting in loss of lives and destruction of homes and shops.

In a statement released on Thursday (October 3, 2024), the group’s Assistant Media Secretary Sajib Chakma stated that the solution to the crisis lies in the full implementation of the CHT Accord. “There is no alternative to a political and peaceful solution to the CHT crisis without the implementation of the CHT Accord of 1997,” Chakma said.

The clashes on September 19 and 20 in Khagrachari, Dighinala, and Rangamati resulted in the deaths of five people including one Bengali and four tribal men. The statement also claimed that hundreds of Jumma people were injured and over 100 houses and shops, including the CHT Regional Council office, were burned and looted.

The PCJSS has made three demands to the interim government of Bangladesh calling for immediate action to bring justice to the tribal people. These demands include a judicial probe into the communal attacks, proper compensation for the families of those killed and injured and punishment for those involved in the attacks.

Interestingly, the PCJSS earlier refused to join with its rivals, the UPDF and UPDF (Democratic), to issue a joint statement condemning the incidents in the CHT. These groups often engage in violent clashes in an attempt to expand their influence over the hill tracts.