Hill Watch Human Rights Form, 17 November 2002
Yesterday, 16 November 2002, the army beat up a
Buddhist monk in Manikchari under Khagrachari
district. It happened at around ten in the morning
when a group of army men from Lakshmichari zone went
to Sudurbil Buddha Vihara (temple). The soldiers
entered the Vihara with their shoes on, ransacked it
and dragged the Bhante (monk) out. They hanged him
upside down from a tree and beat him up.
After that, he was being taken to the camp. But he was
set free from halfway at about 1:30 p.m. The army beat
him up on the false allegation that he harbours
terrorists of the area.
In another report, the army ordered the villagers of
Noapara in Manikchari not to observe "Katin Chibor
Danotsob", a traditional Buddhist religious festival
in the CHT. The festival was scheduled to take place
today, 17 November. No reason was given for the ban.
This report is prepared by Hill Watch Human Rights
Forum (HWHRF), a Dhaka based human rights
organisation, which monitors human rights situations
in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. November
17, 2002.