Bangladesh, Oct. 23 -- Astruggle for local dominance in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, specifically the Sajek area in Rangamati, between two armed political groups - the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS or JSS), with whom the government signed the CHT Accord in 1998, and the United Peoples Democratic Front, which was born in the aftermath of the signing of the accord - spiralled into a heart-stopping daylong armed clash between the Army and the UPDF on Thursday (Oct. 22). Although no lives were reported lost, it left the fate of tourism in the area hanging in the air in the short term, and exposed some of the deep-rooted issues that continue to plague the region in general.
On Wednesday, two organisations, the Sajek Gano Odhikar...