Families couldn't hold meeting
They wanted to tell people about the nightmare they had been through since their loved ones were allegedly abducted by law enforcement agencies. They wanted to share what it meant to live with the whereabouts of their brothers, sons or husbands remaining unknown.
They thought the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances yesterday was a befitting occasion to organise a solidarity meeting at the Jatiya Press Club, hoping to seek the government's help to know the whereabouts of their family members.
But they could not hold the meeting as the Jatiya Press Club, all of a sudden, cancelled the booking of the programme venue only 16 hours beforehand. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 9:30am yesterday.
"As family members of the victims, we were victimised further," said Sanjida Islam, sister of Sajedul Islam Suman, who was allegedly picked up by members of Rapid Action Battalion from Bashundhara Residential Area in December 2013 along with six other persons.
Family members of 20 victims wanted to observe the international day jointly with the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and rights organisation Odhikar.
Prof CR Abrar, president of Odhikar, told The Daily Star over the phone that they had booked the Jatiya Press Club auditorium on July 11, paid the money and got a receipt.
"But at 5:20pm on Saturday, we received a phone call from Selim Mia, an employee of the Jatiya Press Club. He said that as per the instructions of the club's general secretary, the booking for the programme was cancelled and that they will not allow Odhikar to host the programme at their premises," he said.
Abrar claimed that when they contacted the club's general secretary, they were told that the club had its own programme at the venue during the same time and on the same date.
However, when The Daily Star contacted the Press Club authorities, they declined to mention what programme they had and at what time.
A correspondent and a photographer of The Daily Star, who were present at the Press Club from 9:00am to 3:00pm, did not see any programmes taking place at the auditorium. Instead, there were police sitting on the flights of stairs leading up to the large, empty, dark hall with plastic chairs stacked on one side.
The policemen said they had been deployed there since morning.
Talking to The Daily Star, Nur Khan Liton, a rights activist, said, "The occurrence of enforced disappearance has become quite frequent since 2007. At first, the victims were mostly notorious criminals but recently the victims are mostly activists of opposing political parties. Some businessmen and even a few activists of the ruling party also became victims."
According to Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), between 2007 and 2014, 343 people were allegedly abducted by law enforcement agencies. Of them, 57 dead bodies were recovered, 36 were released, 11 handed over to police afterwards, 4 found in DB office, 7 presented before media as arrestees of RAB and one was shown arrested.
This year, ASK data show, 36 people became victims of enforced disappearance by law enforcement agencies from January to July, as claimed by their families. Of the victims, dead bodies of 6 were recovered later, 2 came back and 3 were shown arrested.
ASK statistics are based on reports of national dailies and the ASK investigation unit.
In 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and decided to observe 30 August as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, beginning in 2011.
"The day has been observed in Bangladesh since 2012. It was initially organised by Odhikar. Last year, human rights activists under the banner of Moulik Odhikar Surakkha Committee (basic rights protection committee) observed the day at the Jatiya Press Club auditorium," said Liton.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement posted on FIDH website on August 29, AFAD, ALRC and FIDH urged the Bangladesh government to take responsibility for ensuring accountability, truth and justice for all incidents of enforced disappearances in the country.
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