The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission in a statement on Monday called on the government to end the ‘systematic persecution of Bawm community’, condemning the recent death of a Bawm youth in jail custody.
For over two years now, the Bawm community, with a population of just over 12,000, has been subjected to systematic human rights violations, facing the risk of ethnic cleansing amid military crackdowns, attacks by pro-military armed groups, and mass arrests, said the statement signed by CHT Commission co-chairs Sultana Kamal, Elsa Stamatopoulou and Myrna Cunningham Kain.
‘This systematic persecution has displaced half of their population. 3,500–4,000 Bawm individuals, one-fourth of the entire community, have been forced to seek refuge in Mizoram State of India, and Chin State of Myanmar, where they are living in extremely precarious and inhumane conditions,’ said the statement.
Those who remain face severe restrictions on movement, agricultural trade and livelihood, which has pushed the entire community into a state of famine, according to the statement. Â
‘Since the emergence of KNF [Kuki-Chin National Front], reportedly under military patronage which has been published in details by the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), over 26 Bawm individuals have been killed by security forces and affiliated pro-military groups, including reports of extrajudicial executions, with victims as young as 13 years old,’ said the CHTC statement.
The CHT Commission said that it was extremely outraged and saddened to learn about the death of a 29 year old Bawm youth, Lal Tleng Kim Bawm, in prison custody.
Lal Tleng was arrested on April 7, 2024 from Bethel Para in Ruma in Bandarban, and was among 126 Bawm individuals, including 30 women and three children (as young as one and two years old), who had been detained for over a year without due process based on unsubstantiated charges that lacked transparency or legal justification, the statement added.
Despite repeated appeals from national and international advocates, the crackdown continues, and the imprisoned Bawm individuals have not been released, it further reads.
The commission urged the interim government to release all the innocent Bawm detainees immediately who are not affiliated with the KNF, and withdraw all cases against them and ensure proper medical care for sick Bawm individuals still in custody.
The commission also urged the government to take lawful action against the KNF, also hold accountable and bring into justice those who supported and sponsored the creation of the KNF and initiate concrete steps to implement the CHT Accord in full.
It was extremely frustrating that the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus that stated its strong commitment to protecting minorities while taking charge, had failed to ensure protection of one of the smallest national minority groups of Bangladesh, the commission said.
The statement said that it appeared that the continued imprisonment of Bawm civilians and the broader persecution of the entire community was a reflection of the security forces’ frustration over their failure to control the KNF, an armed group that they allegedly created.