Jumma People Stage Protest Outside Japan’s Foreign Ministry Demanding Justice for CHT Indigenous Communities
On October 10, 2025, members of the Jumma community, along with their Japanese supporters, held a demonstration in front of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, demanding justice for the Indigenous peoples of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
The protest came in response to the violent attacks on September 27 and 28 in Khagrachari and Guimara, where Jumma homes and shops were set on fire, leaving several people dead and many injured or displaced.
Carrying placards that read “Stop Military Occupation in CHT” and “Justice for Indigenous People,” the protesters denounced what they described as ongoing military repression, land grabbing, and the government’s failure to fully implement the 1997 CHT Peace Accord.
Speakers at the demonstration said that the recent violence followed the rape of a young Marma girl in Khagrachari. Instead of bringing the perpetrators to justice, they alleged, the military and settler groups launched attacks on Indigenous villages. The arson destroyed dozens of homes and shops, once again forcing Jumma families into homelessness.
Among the demonstrators were Tom Eskildsen and Nozumi Inagawa, General Secretary of Jummonet, who expressed solidarity with the Indigenous communities. They urged Japan to ensure that its aid and cooperation do not contribute to injustice or human rights violations.
The protesters called on the Government of Japan and the international community to press Bangladesh to withdraw its troops from the CHT and guarantee the Indigenous peoples’ rights to land, safety, and dignity.
They also appealed to the United Nations not to accept Bangladeshi peacekeepers, arguing that a state unable to ensure peace and justice within its own borders cannot credibly serve as a peacekeeping force abroad.
Source: Hill Voice
