Christian groups protest abuse of tribal people's rights in Bangladesh

Christian groups held a demonstration in Madhupur, in the Division of Tangail in Bangladesh, to protest the displacement of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands.

"We demand that the land of the tribals be identified," said Ignatius Hemant Corraya, secretary general of the Bangladesh Christian Association and secretary of Dhaka Credit Union.

He said the tribal people's land where they have been living for hundreds of years "should be documented and occupied because this is their right as citizens of our country."

Corraya saidnthe indigenous peoples were the ones protecting forests.

The protest action on January 27 was organized by the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, Bangladesh Christian Association, Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Parishad, and several other organizations.

Sanjeeb Drong, general secretary of the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, noted that thousands of Garo and Koch tribal people in the Madhupur forest area of Tangail have been living there for hundreds of years but don't have documents to prove it.

In 1962, the government declared the forest as public land and named it Madhupur National Park. Authorities then ordered the tribal people to leave the land.

"What happened in Madhupur is more worrying than the coronavirus," said Nirmal Rosario, acting president of the assembly of Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Parishad.

"This is a matter of concern and anxiety for the Bengalis and tribal people," he said. "We do not want any citizens of the country to be displaced. It doesn't go with human rights and the constitution," added Rosario. - Nikhil Gomez / RVA News