Lal Tleng Kim Bawm (Athleng), a 30-year-old Bawm youth unjustly detained by the state, has died todayâallegedly due to the denial of critical medical treatment.
Athleng was one of 49 Bawm civiliansâincluding men, women, children, pregnant women, and even thalassemia patientsâwho were arrested on April 8 last year during a joint forces operation. The raid was carried out in the name of targeting the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed group based in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
Athleng took his final breath today while being taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, after his health had severely deteriorated.
Notably, the KNF was fostered under the patronage of the Bangladesh military as part of a broader âdivide and ruleâ strategy aimed at deepening rifts among the Jumma peoples.
Athleng was detained without trial for a long year after his arrest and was not provided adequate medical treatment even after his health condition got worsened., tells his family.
At present, over 100 individuals remain unjustly imprisoned in jails across Bandarban and Chittagong, including two thalassemia patients, 25 women, and three childrenâone of whom was born behind bars. Just a month ago, a school teacher from the Khumi community was also arrested.
This dangerous pattern of arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions without trial, and the murders of Bawm civilians reflects a systemic strategy of ethnic cleansing aimed at eroding the demographic presence of Jumma peoples in the CHT. The world cannot remain silent as an entire population faces a systemic and ongoing process of genocide every single day.
Over 4,000 members of the approximately 13,000 Bawm population have already been forced to flee to neighboring countriesâdriven out by the stateâs indiscriminate and ongoing crackdown. Theyâve had to abandon the land they call home, the country that was supposed to protect them.
Village after village now stands desertedâhomes left behind by Bawm families fleeing the Bangladesh Armyâs relentless and brutal crackdown.
Those Bawm people who remain live under constant fear. Even Bawm students studying outside the CHT often cannot return home because of the ongoing oppression.
The people are forced to get military approval just to move or carry everyday essentials like groceries.
Bangladesh has failed its Hill People.
Never Stop Talking About The Bawm People!