UK minister hails Dhaka's commitment to try extremists
UK Minister of State Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire has welcomed the commitment by the Bangladesh government to bring those responsible for the recent extremist attacks to justice.
“We have also made it clear, in public and in private, that justice must be done in a manner that fully respects the international human rights standards that Bangladesh has signed up to,” he said in a debate in British parliament yesterday.
The minister said mass arrests and suspicious “crossfire” deaths at the hands of the police undermine confidence in the judicial system.
Investigations must be conducted transparently and impartially, irrespective of the identity of the victim or the alleged perpetrator.
Anyone arrested should be treated in full accordance with due process and Bangladeshi law. It is also important to explore the root causes of the attacks involving international links, he added.
He urged Bangladesh, as a vibrant, modern and rapidly growing democracy, to protect and promote freedom of expression as one of its core values.
“Prime Minister Hasina has repeatedly extolled the secular, tolerant nature of Bangladesh. Her government must be unequivocal about protecting the rights of all citizens, including those who express different views or lead different lifestyles. The victims themselves should not be blamed,” he said.
British lawmaker Simon Danczuk has said democracy has now “broken down” in Bangladesh and there is “irrefutable evidence”.
The independent MP for Rochdale moved a debate on current situation in Bangladesh on Tuesday at the Westminster Hall and made the remark.
He also spoke of the “restraint on freedom of expression and the pressure being put on the free press”.
In his remark, Danczuk said the current situation in Bangladesh has some relationship to the war for independence in 1971, but it is also very much the result of the seriously flawed general election on 5 January 2014.
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