The Dynamics of Conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh in the Post Peace Accord Milieu

Abstract

The Chittagong Hill Tracts, located in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh is regarded as the home of indigenous people, resided in by 13 different indigenous ethnic groups, who are ethnically and culturally different from the mainstream Bengali people. However, the area has been subject to violent ethnic conflict since late 1970s between the security forces of Bangladesh Government and the indigenous ethnic groups. A peace treaty titled the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord (CHT Peace Accord) was signed in 1997 between the government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) to end the armed conflict. However, the search for peace remains elusive as the region is still engulfed by conflict and violence in different ways including direct, structural and cultural violence. It has mainly happened because the accord has failed to pay due focus on transforming the conflict through reconciliation, community integration, and ensuring environmental sustainability, which can pave ground to create peace from the bottom. It is within this backdrop that the study aims to focus on the dynamics of conflict in the postaccord scenario in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh.