Violence Erupts Amid Demands For Fair Election of Bangladesh
In New York Human Rights Watch said today that witnesses said the Violence Erupts Amid Demands For Fair Election of Bangladesh police had used needless force on October 28, 2023, during political demonstrations.
Even though there was violence on both sides, the incidents were a part of the ongoing police onslaught on opposition parties. Hundreds of people were injured and at least 11 individuals, including two police officers, died as a result of the events of October 28 and the subsequent violence.
The government of Bangladesh is disobeying its own promises to hold a free, fair, and peaceful election as well as international demands for moderation. The country will have elections in January 2024.
Ac A cording to Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, "many Bangladeshis say they have been fearing an escalation in violence because of the government crackdown on the political opposition in an attempt to subvert participation and voting." "International allies of Bangladesh should insist that elections cannot be deemed fair as long as the opposition is singled out, intimidated, and imprisoned.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led administration has shut down party offices and detained thousands of opposition members, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Over the past year, the administration has increased the number of arbitrary mass arrests it has made in an apparent attempt to suppress the opposition before the elections.
Supporters of the BNP and Awami League both used violence during the October 28 confrontations, wounding hundreds of people, including numerous journalists. Everybody involved has denied any involvement. The BNP claims the government infiltrated the event to start violence and undermine what they claimed was a peaceful march, whereas the authorities hold the BNP responsible for the violence. Human Rights Watch advised political party leaders to encourage nonviolent campaigning among their followers.
Human Rights Watch spoke with witnesses who claimed that the police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd far too frequently. When responding to violent protests, the government should openly command the security forces to follow the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
In the days preceding the demonstration, at least 1,500 opposition members were taken into custody, and BNP officials claimed that party members' houses had been raided by the authorities. Additionally, the police erected roadblocks in and around the capital city of Dhaka and detained opposition activists who were en route to the rally on October 28.
Since previous rallies in July, the opposition claims that approximately 5,000 party leaders and activists have been arrested, and in hundreds of more instances, tens of thousands have been accused. During a press conference on October 26, BNP chairman Ruhul Kabir Rizvi declared, "Prisons are overrun with our party leaders."
The widespread arrests appear to be the result of police officers' directives to round up and convict opposition figures in a systematic manner so that they wouldn't be allowed to vote in the national election. To increase these efforts, it appears that trials are going on late into the night, and the BNP claims that at least 50 people have already been found guilty.
A few inmates have claimed that they suffered from torture. BNP leader Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie told the press that he was beaten by the police while in custody. Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the minister, refuted the claims, claiming that Chowdhury had made up the torture story to get the attention of the court.
Human Rights Watch stated that all claims of torture and other forms of abuse against detainees had to be looked into in-depth and independently, and anyone found guilty ought to be held accountable. According to media sources, since the country's Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act was passed ten years ago, just one incidence of torture has ever resulted in a conviction.
With the explanation that the decision "reflects the fact that at the present time, it is not sufficiently clear whether the necessary conditions will be met," the European Union informed the government of Bangladesh in September that it would not be sending a complete election observation mission to the polls in January. The European Parliament also voiced concern in September on the increasing abuses occurring in Bangladesh, casting doubt on the country's eligibility for EU trade benefits under the "Everything But Arms" Activities. The conditions for a fair election are further compromised by widespread arrests directed towards the opposition.
"Impose visa restrictions on Bangladeshi individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh," the United States has said.International partners should be clear that they won't conduct business with Bangladesh as usual as long as the government is abusing the electoral process, according to Ganguly. "They ought to denounce the widespread detentions and persecution of the opposition and specify the ramifications for trade and diplomatic relations in the event that Bangladesh does not retract these violations."
অর্ডিনারি আইটির নীতিমালা মেনে কমেন্ট করুন। প্রতিটি কমেন্ট রিভিউ করা হয়।
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