begin counter-insurgency operations. The then-President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman created a Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board under an army general to address the socio-economic needs of the region, but the entity proved unpopular and became a source of antagonism and mistrust amongst the native people against the government. The government failed to address the long-standing issue of the displacement of people, numbering an estimated 100,000 caused by the construction of the Kaptai Dam in 1962. Displaced people did not receive compensation and more than 40,000 Chakma people had fled to India. In the 1980s, the government began settling Bengalis in the region, causing the eviction of many natives and a significant alteration of demographics. Having constituted only 11.6% of the regional population in 1974, the number of Bengalis grew by 1991 to constitute 48.5% of the regional population. In 1989, the government of then-president Hossain Mohammad Ershad passed the District Council Act created three tiers of local government councils to devolve powers and responsibilities to the representatives of the native peoples, but the councils were rejected and opposed by the PCJSS. Peace accord Peace negotiations were initiated after the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in 1991, but little progress was made with the government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of Ziaur Rahman and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Fresh rounds of talks began in 1996 with the newly elected prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The peace accord was finalised and formally signed on 2 December 1997. The agreement recognised the special status of the hill residents. Chakma rebels were still in the Chittagong Hill Tracts as of 2002. Chakmas also live in India's Tripura State where a Tripuri separatist insurgency lasted between 1990 and 2012. See also Chittagong Hill Tracts manual The Troubles, a similar armed event in Northern Ireland, Great Britain War in the Vendée, a similar armed event in Europe Boxer Rebellion, a similar armed event in Qing dynasty following the before the fall of the Manchu-led Imperial Qing dynasty Chinese Martyrs Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh 1984 Anti-Sikh riots Cambodian Genocide Persecution of Buddhists in Bangladesh Persecution of Ahmadis in Bangladesh Persecution of Christians in Bangladesh Kosheh massacres Persecution of atheists and secularists in Bangladesh Freedom of religion in Bangladesh Human rights in Bangladesh References External links Full text of Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord