The Parbatya Chattagram Chhatra Parishad (PCCP) and Parbatya Chattagram Nagorik Parishad (PCNP) organized protests in Dhaka and Rangamati on Saturday, condemning what they described as false and misleading information about the Chittagong Hill Tracts presented at the 25th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The demonstrations, including a human chain and rallies at the National Press Club, accused certain groups of attempting to tarnish Bangladesh’s image internationally.

Speakers at the Dhaka rally, including PCNP’s central organizing secretary Sheikh Ahmed Raju and PCCP Dhaka president Russell Mahmud, rejected the UN statements as one-sided and contrary to reality. They asserted that the Bangladesh Army ensures public safety in the hills and accused some expatriate representatives of ignoring local armed group violence while criticizing state development efforts.

The protesters issued several demands, including recovery of illegal arms from regional armed groups, reconstitution of the Land Commission with equal representation, completion of impartial land surveys, legal action against those defaming the state abroad, and strengthening of security operations in the hill region.