Dear friends,
We wish to share with you the following editorial published by the Daily Star, an English-speaking national daily newspaper of Bangladesh, on 15 January 2012.
The original editorial can be available for the readers at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=218339#comments.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
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An Editorial from the Daily Star forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
Editorial
Our disappearing citizens
Government must unearth the truth
Mysterious disappearances and secret killings of citizens have rightly raised concerns not only in the country but outside as well. This much is evident from the worries expressed by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the issue. Add to that the recent reports by the rights groups Ain O Salish Kendra and Odhikar about the alarming rise in the numbers of those who disappeared or were murdered in unexplained circumstances. The ASK findings speak of fifty one citizens going missing last year and of the bodies of fifteen of them being recovered. For Odhikar, while eighteen people vanished in 2010, there were thirty who could not be traced in 2011. Now, with the AHRC calling for an investigation into the matter, it becomes important that the government pay attention to the issue.
We have unequivocally and unreservedly upheld the principles of democracy in this country. And because we have, we firmly believe that in a democratic dispensation it is inconceivable that citizens will disappear and the various agencies of the government will have no explanation for it. A common thread which binds the AHRC, ASK and Odhikar is their feeling that the secret killings and disappearances are attributable to the law enforcers and security agencies. Obviously, therefore, something of grave note has been happening here. If the agencies of the government have been behind the disappearances and killings, it is for the prime minister as well as home minister to sit up and take notice and take the necessary action. We in Bangladesh are fully aware of the stories of disappearances of people which once emanated from Latin America — and this was at a time when military rule was a common phenomenon in the region. Disappearances do not occur in countries that have democracy working for them. Which is why our worries only get deeper since we have an elected government and yet it has said nothing and done nothing about the disappearances of citizens.
Let a broad-based investigation get underway, under individuals who may not be linked to the law enforcing or security agencies, into the problem. More importantly, let the upcoming session of the Jatiyo Sangsad take up the issue in the larger public interest and initiate discussions on it. Those who have disappeared or have been killed must be accounted for. It is the job of a government to ensure citizens’ security, not to look away when some of them are abducted and then are lost forever.
We expect swift action on the issue, unless we are to demean ourselves by staying quiet and pretending everything is all right in our world.
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