National Coalition for Indigenous Peoples forms a human chain before Jatiya Press Club in the capital yesterday demanding observance of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples by the state.Photo: STAR

Rights activists and politicians yesterday demanded that the government officially observes the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on August 9.
They strongly criticised some government officials for trying to keep indigenous people from celebrating the day.
They were addressing a human chain formed by National Coalition for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), an alliance of 307 non-government organisations working for indigenous people, in front of the capital's Jatiya Press Club.
The NCIP formed such human chains at 30 districts across the country simultaneously.
On March 11, the local government and rural development ministry, in a letter to district deputy commissioners, directed to refrain from celebrating the day and launch campaigns stating that there were no “indigenous” people in Bangladesh, they claimed.
Writer Shahriar Kabir said such decision of the government goes against the sprit of the Liberation War and violates the human rights of indigenous people.
The government should immediately take initiatives against Jamaat-e-Islami's conspiracy to form a new state comprising Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Arakan state of Myanmar, he added.
Workers' Party of Bangladesh Politburo Member Fazle Hossain Badsha said, “We strongly protest the government's decision to refuse the existence of indigenous people in Bangladesh.”