DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers have seized five acres of abandoned government property used by a church and falsely charged Christians with damaging the land in southeastern Bangladesh’s Khagrachari Hill district, Christian leaders said.
Kiron Joti Chakma, district field director of Grace Baptist Church, told Compass Direct News that the settlers had taken over the church building and the land in Reservechara village in June and filed a case against five tribal Christians on Aug. 4 for allegedly damaging crops. The settlers are demanding $3,690 from the Christians.
The Bengali-speaking Muslims came from other areas of Bangladesh in a government resettlement program that began in 1980. Tribal leaders said that land-grabbing in area hill tracts began again during the army-backed interim government of 2007–2008.
“It is still continuing, and our demands to stop land-grabbing do not rate very high with the administration and law enforcement agencies,” said Mintu Chakma, one of the accused Christians.
When he went to the police station regarding the false case filed against the Christians, he said, the leader of the Muslim settlers was there and threatened him in front of officers, telling him, “I can devour dozens of people like you — I will finish your life.”
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