Students protest, demand ban on UPDF activities
PARBATTANEWS DESK
Parbatya Chattogram Chhatra Sangsad (PCCS) on Sunday staged a demonstration at Dhaka University demanding a complete ban on the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) and its activities, branding it an armed separatist organisation responsible for destabilising the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
The protest was held around 5:00pm at the Raju Memorial Sculpture, where leaders of the student body also expressed concern over the government’s interim National Consensus Commission reportedly holding talks with UPDF.
“The UPDF is a tri-national armed group operating across Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar, allegedly with support from India’s RAW,” said PCCS President Rafiqul Islam. “It has blood on its hands—from soldiers to Bengali civilians to members of the Chakma, Marma, and Tripura communities.”
He questioned the moral ground on which the state would hold discussions with a group accused of killings and abductions. “This meeting undermines the sovereignty of the country and raises serious concerns about the commission’s intent.”
PCCS leaders claimed that following the signing of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord and the withdrawal of 242 army camps in 2009 under the Awami League government, armed groups like UPDF and JSS expanded their influence in the hills.
They alleged these groups are engaged in extortion, violence, and internal clashes over dominance, reportedly collecting Tk 600–700 crore annually through illegal means.
Kazi Maruf, the organisation’s organising secretary, said granting political legitimacy to UPDF—which he claimed is associated with the Arakan Army and complicit in human rights abuses—would effectively endorse autonomy and the separatist goal of establishing “Jummaland”.
“Those within the commission who are enabling this process must be removed and held accountable,” he said.
The PCCS placed a three-point demand before the government:
1. Ban all activities of the UPDF and bring its members under trial;
2. Remove individuals from the National Consensus Commission who are allegedly supporting separatist organisations;
3. Re-establish the 242 army camps withdrawn in 2009 and deploy special or paramilitary forces if necessary to restore stability and protect national sovereignty.
