Hartal called on Oct 13 in Bandarban to push for 8-point list of demands

"These 8-point list of demands have been raised with the aim of establishing the just and constitutional rights of Bengalis," the organisers say

An organisation called the “Parbatya Nagorik Parishad” (Hill Tracts Citizens’ Council) has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal (general strike) in Bandarban Upazila on Oct 13 to push for an eight-point list of demands, including the scrapping of The Chittagong Hill-tracts Regulation law.

The announcement was made by the organisation's central chairman, Kazi Md Mujibur Rahman, at a press conference at a hotel in the district on Thursday morning.

Outlining the demands in a written statement at the press conference, Mujibur said: "The Bengali community in Chittagong has been subjected to various discriminations for ages and has been deprived of their constitutional rights.

"This eight-point list of demands has been raised with the aim of establishing the fair and constitutional rights of the Bengalis."

The demands are:

1. Repeal the special administrative code The Chittagong Hill-tracts Regulation-1900 enacted during the British period and introduce a governance system of the three hill districts in line with the Constitution.

2. Abolish the “King's Charter” system in the purchase and sale of land, employment and education.

3. Introduce land purchase, sale and land management regulations in Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban as in other districts.

4. Increase the lease period of market areas to 99 years and lift suspensions on bank loans.

5. Establish environmentally friendly brick kilns, factories and industries for the sake of development and employment.

6. Re-establish 246 removed Army camps for the sake of maintaining law and order and security.

7. Recover illegal weapons, stop extortion, disappearances, murder and rape, arrest criminals, and establish a permanent peace.

8. Eliminate discrimination in education, health, business and employment and ensure equal justice.

Mujibur said, “In view of these demands, the Parbatya Nagorik Parishad and people from all walks of life have called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Bandarban.”

However, it was stated at the press conference that government offices and courts, the vehicles of government officials, ambulances, food shops, drug stores, the vehicles of law enforcing agencies and vehicles used in newsgathering by the media will be exempted from the general strike.