Young people must help establish human rights in Bangladesh

Khandaker senior leader . File photo

BNP standing committee member and former minister has said that the human rights situation in Bangladesh is very worrying. He said that human rights are being violated in every step of the country. People have no right to speak. An UN-sponsored delegation wanted to visit Bangladesh to get accurate information about the country’s human rights situation, but they were not allowed to enter the country.

He was speaking at a round table discussion on ‘Human Rights Issue and Image of Bangladesh’ organized by South Asian Youth Research Center on 27 December 2021 at the Nasrul Hamid Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity. 

Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Former Minister and current member, Standing Committee, BNP was present as the Chief Guest. Emiminent lawyer Barrister M. Sorower Hossain presided over the discussion. Mr. Shahriar Haque, Alumni and Researcher, Department of Government and Politics, Jahangirnagar University presented the keynote paper.

 The chief guest said that during the current Awami League government in Bangladesh, there is no right to vote, no democratic right. There is nothing left in the country to say about human rights. The recent fact that Bangladesh has not been invited to the International Conference on Democracy in the United States has further established this fact. The real implications of the corrupt and inhumane Bangladesh government are revealed in the sanctions imposed by the US on the senior officers of the Bangladesh Police, Army and RAB. The human rights violations that are taking place in the country through disappearances, murders and through the Digital Security Act have gone beyond tolerance. At present, due to the subversive foreign policy of the government, human rights are being violated inside Bangladesh by the neighboring country as well. Border killings, fair share of river water, stopping the construction of railways inside Bangladesh are the result of the subversive foreign policy of the present government. He called upon the youth to come forward to brighten the image of Bangladesh by establishing human rights in undemocratic Bangladesh.

Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said that Begum Khaleda Zia had the civil right to receive medical treatment, but the government was depriving the former prime minister of her right to medical treatment. He said BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has been advised by the medical board to take her abroad for better treatment. In that context, Khaleda Zia's family has demanded the government to take her abroad for treatment but the government is not paying any attention to it.

She has been unjustly punished and placed under house arrest. He demanded the government to relax the conditions and provide better treatment to Khaleda Zia.

Law and order situation in the country is deteriorating day by day, the former minister said, due to the Union Parishad elections. He said the BNP has boycotted this election. The BNP is not in the field, yet the boat candidates are not winning, many boat candidates have lost their bail to the independent candidates. He said that this government has retained its power by robbing votes in the Eleventh Parliamentary Election, now the Awami League candidates are also robbing votes in the UP elections. He also commented that the Awami League government is destroying every government institution.

Mr. Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Vice Chairman of BNP, said that the people of this country have lost their way during the tenure of Awami League government. 

Political revenge killings have taken place during the tenure of the present government so much that even today there are protests against the government from the international arena. Today, the people of the outside world are playing a leading role in establishing the rights of the people of Bangladesh like the liberation war of 1971. The people of Bangladesh today are so deprived of their rights that even political leaders like Begum Khaleda Zia are deprived of such treatment due to the arbitrariness and anger of the government.

International relations expert and BNP leader Dr. Asaduzzaman Ripon said that Bangladesh has been established with the aim of protecting the human rights of the people by forming a government according to the will of the people. But now this picture is reversed. He further said that the government elected by the people has a responsibility towards the people but the present government does not have that responsibility because they are not the government elected by the people. So there is no right to vote, so there is no human right. He said that the people are no longer the owners of Bangladesh, now a group owns this country. He said people were dying in the fire at the launch and some people, including the Prime Minister, went abroad for vacation. He did not cancel the tour even after such a big fire. Ripon said there is no record in the history of the world of so many people dying on water in fire. These incidents are happening because there is no accountability. The BNP leader also said that this incident would not have happened if there was accountability.

Mr. Shakib Ali, a former diplomat, said in his discussion that the establishment of human rights in Bangladesh has been hampered in many ways since its birth. The worst time in Bangladesh since 1971 is the current human rights violations. 

Although the image of the people of Bangladesh abroad is very bright, the image of the Bangladesh government is at the bottom. Today America is fighting for the human rights of Bangladesh. It is very embarrassing for us. – Press releasae