STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The indigenous issue should not be seen through the prism of security, rather it should be dealt with politically and that is the only way to resolve this, said speakers in a seminar yesterday.

The event was jointly organised by National Coalition for Indigenous People, Research and Development Collective and Bangladesh Adivasi Forum in cooperation with Manusher Jonno Foundation at The Daily Star Centre yesterday, ahead of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Rashed Khan Menon, founder and chief advisor to the Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous and Minority Affairs, said the effort to resolve indigenous issues requires a political solution.

“Many development initiatives have been taken in CHT, costing the indigenous peoples their peace,” he said.

He also mentioned that the condition of the indigenous peoples of the plain lands is even worse.

“We commit not to leave behind anyone in realising the Sustainable Development Goal by 2030. However, the indigenous peoples are being left behind. We see the commitment only in words when it comes to them, devoid of any reflection in the budget,” he added.

Narrating the history of how the debate centring on the word “indigenous” surfaced, Menon said in 1994, when the celebration of the day was launched in the country, the messages issued by both the then prime minister Khaleda Zia and then opposition leader and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clearly mentioned the word “indigenous”.

“Awami League leaders even mentioned the word in their 2008 election manifesto. The debate emerged from the foreign ministry after the 2011 fifteenth amendment,” he said.