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Leading citizens of the country have expressed their support for the protest of Mrod, a small ethnic group, against the construction of five-star hotels and tourist establishments in the Chimbuk hills of Bandarban. They demanded the cancellation of such projects in the areas inhabited by Mro and the implementation of the land commission in the mountainous areas.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), released a statement on behalf of prominent citizens of the country on Monday. “I fully support the livelihoods, traditional access to natural resources, heritage, culture and security of the Mro people,” he said.
On November 8, the Mro community held a cultural showdown to demand that the construction of the Sikder Group’s five-star Marriott hotel be stopped. They demanded to stop construction in five days. In support of them, spokespersons said that due to the construction of this facility, 10,000 citizens of the Mro community view their land, habitat and zoom crops as an assault. The Chittagong Hill Tracks Commission also issued a statement expressing concern about the project.
Statements have been made challenging Mrod’s claims and they are being intimidated, according to the statement. Mro women will face security threats due to the arrival of outsiders at hotels and amusement parks. The jum farmland of the Mro people will be further compressed.
Prominent people have demanded the suspension of all immoral activities, including tourism and the eviction of land grabbers in a sensitive environment like Bandarban, ignoring the national interest to protect business and group interests. They also demanded the immediate implementation of the land commission to protect small ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
