Who says I’m not against the Bangladesh Army?

Recently, the anti-discrimination student movement led to the fall of the Awami League government. The Bangladesh Army unofficially took control of the country. Currently, this is the government of Nobel laureate Yunus, but inside, it’s 100% a military government.

Under this military rule, the majority of the population in the plains of the country seems to be able to speak pretty freely. There is some clear evidence. However, the minorities don’t have that freedom. They live under constant surveillance.

The situation in the hills is even more oppressive. It feels like the barbaric era of Ibrahim in 1986-87. Indigenous people can’t even buy essential rice and lentils without prior permission from the military. They can’t build their own homes. Students in the hills can’t draw graffiti like the students in the plains. The Chittagong Hill Tracts feels like a different country. It doesn’t seem like parts of Bangladesh.

I am fifty years old. I grew up under military rule. I know what military rule is. From a young age, I have witnessed the brutality of the soldiers. I’ve seen innocent villagers in my village being blindfolded and beaten on the courtyard ground as if they were blankets. I’ve seen people’s backs bent from the soldiers’ kicks. I’ve seen them beaten with bamboo sticks while blindfolded. I’ve seen people being forced to swim in the dry courtyard.

I’ve seen soldiers forcibly take away and slaughter village chickens, ducks, and cows. I’ve seen the dead bodies of innocent people from soldiers’ gunfire. I’ve seen village after village being burned down. To escape death at the hands of the soldiers, I had to live a miserable life for 14 years as a refugee in Tripura, India.

In my life, I’ve never seen a good soldier from Bangladesh. To me, the Bangladesh Army is a monster. Oppressive. Barbaric. Inhuman creatures disguised as humans. The experiences of witnessing their rampage since childhood have brought me to this path. I have an intense hatred for the Bangladesh Army.

To help you understand, let me give an example of a Major General who was awarded the Bir Protik honor.

His name is Major General Ibrahim. He was awarded the Bir Protik honor.

You recognize him, don’t you? Many of you might have taken pictures with him and posted these pictures on Facebook. You proudly display them on your wall. It’s something to be proud of.

Do you know how hated this man is in the Chittagong Hill Tracts? Do you know how many innocent people this monster has killed? How many innocent children this killer has orphaned? How many thousands of people he has tortured? How many dreams of the Indigenous people he has burned to the ground?

In return, the government has showered him with various awards. The government offered him the Bir Protik honor.

Why does this happen? The government gives those who can unleash terror on Indigenous people high-ranking positions with honor. The infamous Major General Ibrahim is a blazing example.

What’s the name of this Kapana abduction beast? I feel intense disgust just mentioning this monster’s name. In three decades, no government has tried to bring him to justice. Instead, the government promoted him and rewarded him.

After the anti-discrimination student movement succeeded, the Hill Indigenous peoples thought they would finally breathe a little easier. The country is now led by a man who won the Nobel Peace Prize, so you could say a Nobel-winning government has come.

But within a few weeks, they realized their assumption was wrong. This Nobel-winning government is no different from the others. The ordinary people are suffering immensely. They have to obtain prior permission even to buy rice and lentils. Students have to get military approval in advance for what they can write in graffiti.

Why?

Do you have the answer? Where is the anti-discrimination student society of the plains? Why are they so quiet about the Chittagong Hill Tracts? They don’t speak a word about it.

Of course, they are quiet. They come from respectable families. The population of the country is 180 million, excluding the Indigenous people. How many of them talk about the oppression by the military that has been going on for decades against the Indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts? How many speak against the military? Can you name more than ten people out of these 180 million?

You can’t. So why wouldn’t the anti-discrimination student society be quiet about the Chittagong Hill Tracts? They sleep with their mouths shut so no sound escapes, even in their dreams against the military oppression in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Who says I am not against the Bangladesh Army? I am against the military. The soldiers have made my life bitter. They have taken away the joys, excitement, and education of my childhood. I don’t want the Bangladesh Army in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.