On April 20th, hundreds of illegal settlers attacked seven Jumma communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) of Bangladesh. Over 500 houses are reported to have been burned, and an unknown number of Jumma were assaulted, raped, and looted during the attack.

According to a recent report by the Asia Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), the attack comes shortly after a group of Jumma gathered to discuss how to defend themselves against an attack, which they had been hearing rumors about. Somehow, the army learned about the gathering and approached the Jumma to …

Mines and Communities reports that “one of the most vilified mining proposals of recent years has hit a major stumbling block, as its key financial backer suspends support. Early this month, in a statement to opponents of the Phulbari coal mine in Bangladesh, the director general of Asia Development Bank (ADB)’s Private Sector Operations Department declared that his agency would ‘decline the opportunity’ of investing in the project.”

Noted here in January, the Asian Development Bank was considering a plan to give a $100 million loan to GCM Resources, the UK company behind …

With the Asian Development Bank preparing to give a $100 million loan and $200 million political risk insurance package to GCM Resources’ open pit coal mine in Phulbari, Bangladesh - the future of the entire local population becomes evermore uncertain.

On the land they’ve live on for generations, many continue asking themselves questions that no one should have to ask: “What will happen to us if we are forced to move from here? What will happen to our livelihoods? I don’t want us to live like this. Our mosques …

Teardrops Of Karnaphuli (Karnaphuli Kanna) tells the story of a dam that was constructed in the Karnaphuli region of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the resulting impoverishment and suffering that was brought on to local inhabitants. About 100,000 people were evicted from their land during 1959-1962.

This is but one of perhaps thousands of stories about the struggles of the Jumma People, who have since the 1970s gone from being nearly the sole inhabitants of the Chittagong Hill Tracts to being minorities on their own land. This film also discusses …

Your nose is constantly assaulted by the foul smells of the mud at low tide, latrines, and various other waste that comes from people living in such crowded, unhygienic conditions. When you enter a two by three metre shelter and ask how many people sleep there, it seems impossible that a family of five has the space to live. People survive in these conditions every day with no privacy, no peace and no dignity. (Jane, MSF nurse, Teknaf)

The MSF recently completed a Report on the Rohingyas …

Bangladesh - Arrest and torture of tribal leaders
Survival International
March 9, 2007

The army and police in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, arrested two Jumma tribal leaders this week, adding to the growing number of arrests since a state of emergency was declared in January. Several of those arrested have been tortured.

Balabhadra Chakma and Manubha Ranjan Chakma were both arrested on Monday. Manubha Ranjan Chakma has been tortured, while Balabhadra Chakma, who is recovering from an operation, has been denied medicine.

Railai Mro, who was arrested on 23 February, has been tortured and is believed to be in a …

Human rights in decline in Asia
By Kathleen Hwang
www.upi.com

HONG KONG, Jan. 18 — Respect for human rights is deteriorating in many Asian countries; security forces are abusing suspects with impunity, and people are living in greater fear of those in authority, the Asian Human Rights Commission said in a report released Tuesday in Hong Kong.

The report documents state-sponsored violence, including kidnappings, torture and murder. It cites Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal as countries of special concern, and includes reports on Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Basil Fernando, executive director of the AHRC, said there …