Rangamati, Oct 27 (V7N) – An indefinite blockade of the tourist road in Sajek, Rangamati, will continue after a meeting between protesters and a government delegation failed to produce a final agreement, with protesters saying the authorities could not give a specific commitment to remove armed members of the Santu Larma faction from the area.
The Sajek Gana Adhikar Rakkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association announced the decision to continue the blockade, although both sides expressed hope that further discussions could help resolve the standoff.
The meeting began around 3pm on Monday at Ujo Bazar in Sajek under Baghaichhari upazila and lasted approximately two and a half hours. No final agreement was reached on withdrawing the blockade.
However, Wadud Bhuiyan, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and a member of parliament from Khagrachhari, said four of the protesters’ five demands had been agreed upon, with discussions on one remaining issue still pending.
Speaking to journalists on Monday evening after visiting the area and talking to local residents, he expressed hope that the outstanding issue could be resolved within the next one or two days and that the tourist road could soon be reopened.
He said it had not been possible to continue discussions on the remaining issue because it was getting late and the area was considered sensitive. He added that talks were still ongoing.
However, in a statement sent to the media on Monday night, Bijoy Kanti Chakma, member-secretary of the Sajek Gana Adhikar Rakkha Committee, said the government delegation had failed to commit to removing armed members of the Santu Larma faction from Sajek. As a result, the blockade would remain in force indefinitely.
One of the protesters’ five key demands is the removal from Sajek of armed members of the Santu Larma faction of the Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS).
According to the protesters’ statement, the government delegation requested three weeks to address the issue. The protesters rejected the proposal, insisting that steps must be taken to withdraw the armed members within a maximum of five days. They said they might consider extending the deadline if visible progress were made within the stipulated period.
The protesters’ delegation was led by Babudhan Chakma, convener of the Sajek Gana Adhikar Rakkha Committee. Other members included Nutan Joy Chakma, president of the Sajek Karbari Association; Ushatan Chakma of the Student-People’s Struggle Council; Jiko Chakma of the committee; and Sadhana Debi Chakma of Sajek Nari Samaj.
The government delegation was led by Wadud Bhuiyan. It also included Rangamati MP Advocate Dipen Dewan, Khagrachhari Deputy Commissioner Md Anwar Sadat, Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Nazma Ashrafi, and the police superintendents of the two districts, Md Mortaza Ali Khan and Md Abdur Rakib.
Earlier, officials from the local administration, led by the Baghaichhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer, held a meeting with protesters at the upazila administration conference room. Officers-in-charge of Baghaichhari Police Station and the Machalong and Kachalong police stations, along with other relevant officials, attended the meeting.
Later, the two MPs and senior administrative officials from Rangamati and Khagrachhari visited the protest site in Sajek. They spoke with local residents and affected people and discussed the ongoing situation.
Babudhan Chakma said the discussions had made progress on several demands, but the main issues remained unresolved. The protesters therefore could not agree to withdraw the blockade.
In their statement, the Sajek Gana Adhikar Rakkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association outlined five demands, including punishment for those allegedly involved in an attack on protesters on October 22; disciplinary action and transfer outside the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Major Md Salman Siddiqui, deputy commander of Baghaihat Zone, and Captain Khandaker Mehedi Hasan, commander of Machalong Camp, over allegations that they led the attack; an impartial judicial investigation into the incident; and withdrawal of the cases filed in connection with it.
The protesters also demanded compensation for shops damaged at Ujo Bazar, payment of medical expenses for injured men and women, withdrawal of army and police personnel from Ujo Bazar, and removal of armed members of the Santu Larma faction from Sajek.
They further called for an end to the arrest and harassment of protesters and demanded that security forces stop searching their homes and business establishments.
According to the statement, the protesters announced an indefinite blockade of the tourist road on October 11 after repeated appeals to the local military administration to remove the armed members allegedly failed to produce effective action.
The blockade was temporarily suspended for two days at the request of the army authorities. However, after the demands remained unmet, the protesters resumed the blockade on October 15. The programme was temporarily paused during the Sharadiya Durga Puja celebrations before restarting on October 22.
The continued blockade has left the reopening of the tourist road uncertain, despite the government delegation’s stated willingness to continue negotiations. Both sides have indicated that further talks may take place, but no timeline for ending the blockade has been agreed upon.
END/AMR/SMA/
