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 17 January 2012.
The original editorial can be available for the readers at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=218604.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
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An Editorial from the Daily Star forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
Editorial
HR violations are evident
Govt. denial may breed impunity
The Prime Minister’s claim of there being no human rights violations in the country is as surprising as it is unfortunate, where media reports, statistics and people’s own experiences as summed up in statements by reputed human rights organisations, say otherwise.
This includes Odhikar’s report which found disappearances, deaths in custody, attacks on journalists and rape to have risen alarmingly in 2011. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) expressed similar concern in the case of disappearances and secret killings. The Asian Human Rights Commission in a comprehensive report on Bangladesh found, in addition to the above, freedom of expression, opinion and human rights activism “being narrowed” down, including threats, attacks and torture of journalists which are yet to be investigated; several cases of illegal arrest and arbitrary detention followed by fabricated charges; and high rates of violence against women. The stories of Limon, Kadar and Razzak are only some of the more highlighted cases of gross neglect and dysfunction of the law enforcing agencies. Even more worrying are the allegations raised about the complicity of the agents themselves in some of the cases, especially those of disappearances and secret killings. If these allegations are baseless, that too must be proven, the truth divulged and action taken against those found guilty. The sense of insecurity at home and the tarnished image of the nation abroad cannot be made short shrift of.
Whether it is ignorance, lack of sensitivity, denial or outright refusal on the part of the government to accept the reality, we cannot say. In spite of the government’s denial, some of the cases are plainly indefensible. If deterrent measures are not taken, the government may be condoning a dangerous culture of impunity, completely opposed to the values of democracy and civil liberties. It is past high time that the government comes out of its denial mode and takes strong and immediate action to remedy the situation.
