Press Release
Hasina Government Utterly Failed to Protect the Security of the Lives and Property the People and the Country’s Sovereignty from the Separatist Armed Group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), but does not hesitate to suppress the People to stay in Power

On April 2, 2024, on Tuesday at 8:30 PM in the upazila Ruma of Bandarban and at 1:00 PM on Wednesday in another upazila Thanchi, three branches of Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank were attacked in cinema style in the presence of a large number of people. In Ruma they held people hostage at gunpoint and in Thanchi they created panic by firing blank bullets into the market. They attacked the branches of Sonali Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank in Thanchi and took 17.5 lakh taka. In Ruma they took Sonali Bank's branch manager as hostage, who was later released after about 48 hours on Thursday evening with the intervention of RAB (Rapid Action Battalion). They also looted 14 weapons and 415 bullets belonging to the police and Ansar members and also took the mobile phones of the people present in the market. This incident has raised questions among the people that Hasina regime does not fail to spying on people (using ‘Israel’-based spyware) and not even hesitate to use weapons and ammunition to suppress the school and college students that we saw in the road safety movement, then why did the intelligence fail to deal with this massive attack by a small separatist group? Why was there a security vacuum in the area even after 17 hours of the first attack, which allowed this armed group to launch a second attack? So is this incident a failure of the government or a staged drama? After the robbery incident, how KNF dared to attack police and army joint check post in Alikadam after Ruma and Thanchi attacks! And the most surprising thing is that the government is dealing with this armed group only with police-BGB instead of quickly ensuring the safety of people's life and property by deploying sufficient military forces as per the advice of security analysts! As a result of which panic has increased among the people, people are fleeing their residences.

O People, Chittagong Hill Tracts including Bandarban are very important from military strategy and geopolitical point of view. But the Hasina government has threatened the sovereignty of the country by withdrawing our military forces from there in the name of Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Agreement 1997 for the sake of India. Besides, this geopolitically important region is a place of attraction for colonial powers. As a result, we see US ambassadors, including their high-ranking diplomats, historically traveling to the region and continuing their various NGO-activities focused on minority communities. For example, “The US Ambassador to Dhaka, Peter D. Haas, visited Chittagong Hill Tracts, a hilly area of Bangladesh. He spent a busy time there. Ambassador Haas visited various projects in the region funded and supervised by his country's international development agencies – USAID, the US Embassy and the United Nations Development Program – UNDP” [Human Land, March 12, 2023].

After the robbery incident, KNF made several posts on their Facebook through which their intention is clear, “attempts to solve the problems of the backward communities through raids and armed wars are a childish and intractable step directed by the higher ranks of the government. They claim that the Chittagong Hill Tracts were created in 1860 due to the Kuki Rebellion. Thousands of British troops suffered heavy losses in that battle. Again in 2021-22, the Kuki-Chin people started a rebellion to protect their ancestral land and a fierce battle took place with the state forces” [Samakal, 05 April 2024]. So in whose interest is the government labeling them only as terrorist groups rather than as separatist groups? In whose interest did the government enter into peace talks with them instead of wiping them out? In fact, the agent rulers of our country do not hesitate to destroy the country's sovereignty and throw the entire population into disaster in order to serve the interests of the colonialists.

O People, Allah (swt) warns us about entrusting our lives and property to these Ruwaibidah rulers. Allah (swt) says,

[وَلَا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهَاءَ أَمْوَالَكُمُ الَّتِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَامًا]

“And do not give the weak-minded your property, which Allah has made a means of sustenance for you” [Surah An-Nisa: 05]. Besides, the sovereignty of the Muslim Ummah is never safe in the hands of these agent rulers. Regarding our security and sovereignty, the Prophet (saw) said,

«إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ»

“The Imam (Caliph) is a shield under which you fight and protect yourselves.” In fact, after the destruction of the Khilafah, the Western colonialist Britain-America imposed on us these ruling groups, who are serving the geo-political interests of the colonialists by selling the sovereignty of the Muslim lands, they keep in power by oppressing the people without caring about the security of people's lives and property. So you must unite with the sincere leadership of Hizb ut Tahrir in re-establishing the Khilafah (Caliphate) and call upon our brave sons in the military to give Nusrah to Hizb-ut Tahrir in re-establishing the Khilafah.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Bangladesh