If Teknaf is left unprotected, Bangladesh will also be unprotected: Speakers
The people of Teknaf must have a stake in deciding Teknaf’s policies, speakers said at a discussion organised by Jatiya Nagorik Committee
Speakers at a discussion today (7 December) said that if Teknaf is left geopolitically unprotected, Bangladesh will also be unprotected as it is not just a border area, but an exclusive economic zone as well.
The people of Teknaf must have a stake in deciding Teknaf's policies, they said at the discussion, titled "Rohingya Crisis and Socio-economic Change: Reality and Future", organised by the Jatiya Nagorik Committee (JANAC), Chattogram Division.
The event was held as part of the platform's Chattogram Rising Initiative at the Teknaf Upazila Parishad conference hall in Cox's Bazar.
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Aminullah Saif, headmaster of Sabrang Coastal Red Crescent High School, presided over the discussion, while JANAC Teknaf Organiser Shayem Sikder moderated the event.
At the programme, JANAC Central Member SM Suja Uddin said, "Workers, day labourers, and salt farmers should be able to speak for themselves, ensure their interests, and have the right to secure their future.
"We want politics like this. We want to speak for the youth population of Bangladesh. We will create a new political arrangement through political leadership under the age of fifty."
Prof Muhammad Omar Farooq, district organiser of JANAC in Cox's Bazar, said that Teknaf holds an important place in the geopolitics, strategic security, and humanitarian policies of South and Southeast Asia.
Khalid Bin Said, JANAC's district organiser, called on the people of Teknaf to declare zero tolerance against drugs to clear the bad reputation of drugs.
Tariqur Rahman, a representative of JANAC from Eidgaon, highlighted the geopolitical significance of Teknaf.
Local businessman Rafiqul Islam called for harnessing the potential of the blue economy.
School teacher Taslima Parveen Sumi raised concerns about insecurity caused by the ongoing conflict between Myanmar's junta and the Arakan Army along the banks of the Naf River, in addition to the many problems posed by the Rohingya crisis.
Morshed Alam, a representative of the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, discussed how employment opportunities for the local population in the tourism sector can be ensured.
Local youths Atiqur Rahman and Belal Uddin, who were victims of abduction, shared their harrowing experiences of kidnapping, torture, and ransom.
