Call for hartal in Chittagong hill dts.

By Our Special Correspondent

DHAKA, SEPT. 28.The Parbatta Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS), the regional political party that signed the 1997 peace accord with the Bangladesh Government, has called a two-day hartal in the three hill districts of Chittagong ahead of the general election due on October 1.

The hartal was called after a crucial meeting of the party in support of its six-point demands. The demands include a call for a new voters' list with just the ``the permanent voters'' in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, (CHT), implying that only the original tribals and not the Bengali settlers were to be included in the list. The PCJSS had waged an armed insurgency for regional autonomy for two decades.

The PCJSS is boycotting the election, declaring that the voter list prepared by the Election Commission is ``unacceptable'', and that the situation in the CHT is ``not conducive'' to holding an election. The meeting was presided over by the party's second-in- command, Mr. Ushaton Taluker in the absence of its leader and chairman of the CHT regional council, Mr. Santu Larma.

According to sources, the Awami League, which signed the treaty with the tribal rebels in 1997, stands a fair chance of retaining at least one of the three CHT constituencies. The trend suggests that the other two seats may be captured by the four-party alliance led by Begum Khaleda Zia who has pledged to ``reframe'' the accord, if voted in.

During the last few elections, the CHT seats were practically reserved for the Awami League. However, many observers believe that the PCJSS' uncompromising attitude to what they termed as the ``non-implementation'' of the treaty's provisions has created a gap between the PCJSS and the Awami League. The majority of Bengali settlers, who make up almost half of the CHT's population of one million, are also against the peace accord.

They believe that the accord has gone against their interests and have given their support to the anti-accord political forces led by Begum Khaleda Zia. ``It is for our own existence'', a settlers' spokesman said.

However, the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), a new anti- accord tribal force, has criticised the PCJSS decision to boycott the election. ``The boycott decision will be suicidal at this juncture of the CHT,'' said Mr. Sanchoy Chakma, UPDF leader and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election.

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