Staff Reporter:
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday urged the interim government to initiate an investigation under the United Nations into incidents of enforced disappearances that have plagued Bangladesh over the past 15 years.
Speaking at a solidarity meeting, he also called upon the government to take steps to provide allowances to each family of the victims of enforced disappearance.
“I have been in politics for a long time…I knew about arrests and killings, but we were not aware of enforced disappearances. Since the Awami League came to power, their law enforcement agencies have used state power to commit such heinous crimes against humanity,” the BNP leader said.
He appreciated that the current government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus has signed the UN convention against enforced disappearances.
“It is also encouraging that, for the first time in Bangladesh, a team from the UN has arrived to take steps against the misdeeds committed by the (Sheikh Hasina’s) autocratic regime,” he said.
Fakhrul said this is an initial fact-finding UN team which will investigate the killings that have occurred over the past two months,
“I urge the government to engage with the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate all the crimes against humanity, killings, and enforced disappearances that have occurred over the past 15 years. If the interim government makes this request, the UN will certainly do it,” he said.
The BNP leader thanked the interim government for forming a five-member commission to find out forcibly disappeared people by the law enforcement agencies. “It’s a good step. But I also urge the government to ensure that allowances are provided to every family of the victims of enforced disappearance.”
Justifying his call for providing allowances, Fakhrul said many families are enduring significant hardship, struggling to support themselves, raise their children, and provide them with education. “It is the state’s duty to support these families. Even as we enjoy democracy, the children of those who have disappeared will never get their parents back, and those who have lost their husbands will never be reunited with them. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the state to take care of these families.”
Expressing solidarity with the pain and suffering of the families of the victims of enforced disappearances, the BNP leader said these families have long been sharing their distress. “When a child like Safa says, ‘I want to walk down the street holding my father’s hand and I want to go to Eid prayers with him,’ as a father, I cannot bear to witness such a pin.”
He said the state must restore the rights of the families of those who have been subjected to enforced disappearances and ensure justice for them. “We know the identities of those responsible for these disappearances. We need to find and hold accountable those who were in positions of authority, such as members of the RAB and special police units, and ensure they are punished.”
Fakhrul questioned why the dangerous individuals involved in enforced disappearances have not been arrested. “It pains us to see political leaders being detained, yet not a single person involved in murder, torture, or enforced disappearances has been arrested.”
He expressed hope that the perpetrators of the incidents of enforced disappearance will be arrested and punished soon. “We must work towards transforming Bangladesh into a genuinely accountable democratic state.”
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed recounted: “On the night of March 10, 2015, around 9:30pm, I was abducted from a house in Uttara by people identifying themselves as law enforcement. I was then kept in a dark room.”
He alleged: “The main person responsible for enforced disappearances was Benazir Ahmed and Ziaul Hasan. Ziaul Hasan should be interrogated thoroughly. Such interrogation will reveal all the information about the disappearances and killings.”
Another BNP Standing Committee member, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, said: “The real story behind the enforced disappearances and killings during Sheikh Hasina’s government needs to be uncovered. Sheikh Hasina was the chief architect of this campaign of disappearances and killings.”
In observance of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, a solidarity meeting was held in front of the BNP’s central office in Nayapaltan to remember the victims.
During the meeting, family members of those who have disappeared, from BNP and its affiliated organizations, expressed their deep anguish in moving terms, prompting thousands of leaders and activists to show their solidarity with tears.
Earlier in the morning, ‘Mayer Dak,’ a platform representing the families of the disappeared, organized a human chain at the Central Shaheed Minar. The event saw participation from human rights activists, politicians, lawyers, and relatives of the missing.
