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by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
October 2, 2009
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According to report published on October 1, 2009 by human rights group in Dhaka, named ADHIKAR, 97 people were extra-judicially killed by law enforcing agencies during January-September 2009 period, since the new government came in power. The report further said that more than 185 people were also killed due to political rivalry. More than 10,468 people were physically assaulted during political clash during this period.
ADHIKAR said, 55 people were tortured in custody by the members of law enforcing agencies, while 2 journalists were killed 52 assaulted, 48 threatened and 14 were charged with false cases.
The organization referred to a statement by Bangladeshi foreign minister Dr. Dipu Moni in Geneva, where she claimed that her government is showing 'zero tollerance' on extra-judicial killing. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on February 11, 2009 told the parliament that if any member of law enforcing agencies are found involved in extra-judicial murder, they too will have to face trial under the existing law of the land.
On September 27, 2009, the Bangladeshi Prime Minister while talking to newsmen in New York City said, her government does not believe in extra-judicial killing.
On September 12, 2009, state minister for Home Affairs, Advocate Shamsul Huq Tuku said, there is nothing called extra-judicial murder.
Head of the Public Administration Department of Dhaka University, eminent scholar and human rights activist Professor Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, while giving his reaction on extra-judicial killings and repression on press said, the growing trend of such murders are very alarming.
He further said, absolute freedom of press is the prime requirement for a stable democracy. He expressed grave concern at the figures shown by ADHIKAR on murder, repression and persecution of journalists in Bangladesh and said, for a government, which came in power with high expectations of the people, such tendency is never appreciable. He demanded punishment of the killers of all journalists who had been killed including Shamsur Rahman, Balu, Mukul and others.
He expressed dissatisfaction at the delayed trial into the murder case of journalist Shamsur Rahman, who was brutally killed in southern district of Jessore by several miscreants having link with Islamists and leftists.
While law and order situation in Bangladesh is worsening since Awami League government came in power in January 2009, the government is showing total failure in diplomacy in upholding national interest.
During the recently concluded 64th meet of the UN General assembly, although South Asia as a whole stole the world, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina failed to meet the expectation of the people since her electoral landslide victory during general election in December 2008. She failed to raise a number of important thus crucial issues, which needed to be raised in such platform.
In her speech, prime Minister Sheikh Hasina highlighted five issues including importance of food security; adverse impact of the climate change on Bangladesh, which will effect one in every 7 people; interests of the least developed countries, including rights of immigrant workers from developing countries to developed countries in this on going great economic recession; proportionate representation in the department of peacekeeping operations and having a say in the planning and strategies of peacekeeping missions and introducing Bengali as one of the official languages of the UN.
Although all the issues the climate change is the most important, which has been highlighted by all the countries, whose heads of governments came to ventilate their concerns on world affairs. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her remarks said, "What is alarming is that a meter rise in sea level would inundate 18 per cent of our land mass, directly impacting 11 per cent of our people.
But Sheikh Hasina did not say anything about the devastating impact of manmade issues like Ganges water diversion at Farakka and the proposed Tipai Mukh Dam in her speech. Tipai Mukh Dam will deepen the crisis of climate change by adversely affecting Bangladesh's environment. Bangladesh could have made an appeal to the international community to undertake a survey about the human intervention on the environment, which is degrading the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans and posing threat to sweet water region.
About peacekeeping operations Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when claimed to give more access to the troop contributors in planning and strategies of peacekeeping missions, she stated that since 1988 Bangladesh has been involved in 32 UN peacekeeping operations in 24 different countries with approximately 83,000 personnel. Today Bangladesh is ranked the second with 9,567 peacekeepers in various UN missions. 84 Bangladeshi troops laid their lives while they were in operation.
Bangladesh has also failed to raise the issue of having rights to peaceful use of nuclear energy in agriculture, health, industry and science areas. It also did not speak about other energy efficiency or solar energy goals, though it loudly talked about it in the 2021 vision. Bangladesh has missed an opportunity to alert the international community about the problems that it is facing in conflict resolutions with neighbouring countries. Though not specifically, it could have made general appeal on the issues like implementation of the law of the sea and resolving dispute over maritime boundary and trans-boundary water management.
However, other South Asian countries did not hesitate to raise the issues that they are facing now particularly in managing their resources and plundering of their resources by other countries. Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar were categorical in speaking about their concerns. India has clearly spoken about all of its neighbours except for Bangladesh. China also remarked particularly stating its special interests in East Asia.
Political pundits are saying that the present government is Bangladesh, instead of upholding national interests and priorities are busy in appeasing particular countries, which makes them shy in raising issues, which are very much important for the independence, sovereignty and even very existence of the nation.
They said, since past nine months, foreign minister Dr. Dipu Moni was anble to bring no fruit for the nation, although she has been spending millions of dollars in her shuttle tours.
Bangladesh failed to attract even a small amount of foreign investment in past nine months while thousands of Bangladeshi workers in various countries, especially in the Middle East are continuing to be send back, where Bangladeshi government totally failed in addressing any of the issues.
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