The findings of the Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based rights organisation, mention that the country’s record on human rights has deteriorated in the last 12 months as compared with the previous year. “Bangladesh has tumbled backwards on human rights in 2013,” states the World Report 2014 of HRW, released on Tuesday. “The government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which has long claimed to be liberal and democratic, was engaged in a harsh crackdown on members of the civil society and the media,” states the report, which contains the events of 2013.
In August, the government had jailed prominent human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan on politically motivated charges. “Atheist” bloggers and a newspaper editor were arrested. It accused those who criticised its actions or policies, including the World Bank and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, of being involved in anti-government plots. On many occasions, the government employed violent and illegal measures against protesters, including activists of the Hefazat-e-Islami and those demonstrating against the deeply flawed war crimes trials.
Following the verdict against Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Jamaat supporters took to the streets. Though they were responsible for a number of deaths, security forces killed many more as they indiscriminately carried out attacks on protesters and bystanders. At the same time, the government began a crackdown on critics. Several bloggers, who criticised the government for apparently appeasing Islamic extremism, were also arrested.
The security forces frequently used excessive force to thwart street protests, killing at least 150 protesters and injuring at least 2,000 people between February and October 2013. While large numbers of protesters were arrested, the authorities made no meaningful efforts to hold members of the security forces accountable.
Elections scheduled for January 2014 led to increased tension between the two major political parties. Previously, the Awami League (AL) had campaigned for a caretaker system to guard against fraud and manipulation. But once in power, it abolished the system which led to opposition party threats to boycott the election and increased the chances of violent confrontations between security forces and protesters.
Dire conditions for workers in different industries, including the garments industry, remained largely unreformed in spite of promises of improvements following the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in April last year and the deaths of over 1,100 workers. The government finally dropped frivolous charges against several labour rights leaders.
The court also ordered all charges to be dropped against Limon Hossain, a young man wrongfully shot and maimed by security forces in 2011.
India remained largely silent on the human rights situation in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh and India continued to take part in talks on border issues, including illegal trade and use of excessive force by Indian border guards leading to deaths and injuries to Bangladeshi and Indian nationals.
The country’s donors were more vocal and they pressed the government to end its crackdown on those who criticised the government’s actions. They were swift in denouncing the arrest of Adilur Rahman Khan. Even members of the international community kept a close watch on the court proceedings. However, the donors were largely silent about the lack of fair trials at the ICT.
The government publicly agreed to allow international monitors to observe the January 2014 elections. The international community, in particular the US, called for various parties to come to an agreement well before the poll, in order to avoid contentious and potentially violent protests and a non-credible election result.
Courtesy of The Independent
