United People's Democratic Front
United People's Democratic Front | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | UPDF |
| President | Prasit Bikash Khisa |
| General Secretary | Rabi Shankar Chakma |
| Founded | 26 December 1998 |
| Headquarters | Chittagong Hill Tracts |
| Ideology | Autonomy for the indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts |
| Seats in the Jatiyo Sangsad | 0 / 350 |
| Election symbol | |
| Bow and arrow | |
| Website | |
| updfcht | |
United People's Democratic Front (abbreviated as UPDF) is an armed political party based in the semi-autonomous Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Chakmas form the majority ethnic group in the party. The United People's Democratic Front claims to seek a fully autonomous Hill Tracts through peaceful and democratic means. However, many of its members are armed and have expressed violent Buddhist extremist behaviour.
Founding
The United People's Democratic Front was founded on December 26, 1998 at a conference in Dhaka. At the end of the conference, a five-member convening committee was formed with Prasit Bikash Khisha as its convener.
In November 2006, Prasit Bikash Khisha was elected to presidency by the party's central committee during a congress in Dhaka. In the same meeting, Rabi Shankar Chakma became the new general secretary.[1]
Elections
The UPDF took part in the eighth national parliamentary elections in 2001 and though failed to win in any of the two seats in CHT it contested, the party received a considerable number of votes cast, to the surprise of many analysts.
History
In July 2021, the party's Joan Chakma led a contingent of Buddhist-Chakmas to Suandrapara, a village of the Bawm Christian convert community, where they issued threats and conducted two violent raids leading to the destruction of a baptist church.[2] Towards the end of the same month, four of the party's members were arrested for unauthorised weaponry, fraudulent equipment and for committing extortion.[1]
References
 | This article about a Bangladeshi political party is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- ^ a b Dhar, Bijoy (31 July 2021). "4 UPDF members arrested in Rangamati". Dhaka Tribune. Rangamati.
- ^ "Bangladeshi Christian villagers forced to flee after violent attacks by Buddhist extremists". Barnabas Fund. 2 August 2021.