http://www.bhorerkagoj.net/archive/04_01_30/news_0_25.php
News Text: Mr. Santu Larma, chairman of the JSS and the president of the Bangladesh Adibasi (Indigenous People) Forum has said that the indigenous people of Bangladesh are living a very inhuman life under the administration of extreme nationalist and fundamentalist forces. In every step they (indigenous people) are being repressed.
He further said that, the indigenous people are being discriminated and repressed through out the world like Bangladesh. Without struggle there is no way out for the indigenous people to establish their rights.
Yesterday, on Thursday Mr. Larma said this in his inaugural lecture of an advisory meeting of South Asian Desk, International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal People of the Tropical Forest. Among the key persons present in this discussion meeting were Mr. Parshuram Thamang, Mr. Shukendu Devbarma, a teacher of Tripura University from North-east India and about 30 indigenous participants from different parts of Bangladesh.
Mr. Larma said, though the population of the indigenous people of Bangladesh is insignificant but they are wedging their movement to establish their rights. In establishing their rights not only in South Asia, the indigenous people of the world should be united.
In this discussion meeting the other participants mentioned that like the indigenous people Bangladesh, the main problem of the indigenous people of South Asia is the ‘land problem’. The indigenous people of South Asia are being up rooted by force from their own land. In the name of development, the traditional land rights of the indigenous people are being curbed. The national life of the indigenous people is made unbearable by the acts of limiting the areas of the indigenous people, infiltration of outsiders into their land, communal assaults on them and gross violation of human rights of the indigenous people. The indigenous people are being deprived of their fundamental rights of education, health service and development.
For the same reason, the meeting stressed upon the importance of solidarity of Indigenous people in South Asia and worldwide in their movements of establishing their rights. After reviewing the discussions the participants adopted an 11- point proposal of the meeting.
Translated from Bangla by Japan CHT Committee