Govt failing to ensure human rights

The government has failed to ensure people's welfare and human rights as it does not represent them, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia told the visiting European Parliament delegation yesterday.

"We told the European Parliament delegation that good governance and human rights cannot be ensured as there is no democracy in the country,” BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, quoting Khaleda, told reporters after the meeting.

"We also told them that without democracy, it's impossible to ensure sustainable development in the country," he said.

The visitors, led by Jean Lambert (Green Party), chair of the EP delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia, met the BNP chief at her Gulshan office. 

Emerging from the one-hour meeting that began around 4:30pm, Moyeen told the reporters, “We mainly discussed the issues of Bangladesh about which the European Union is concerned."

He said they also had a discussion on the current political, economic and social issues along with the law and order situation of Bangladesh.

”We told them that the transfer of power is not possible in a proper way without a free, fair and impartial election,” he added.

European Union Ambassador in Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon and other members of the delegation -- Richard Howitt (Labour Party), vice-chair, delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia; Ivan Štefanec (Christian Democrats), member, committee on the internal market and consumer protection and delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia; and Sajjad Karim (United Kingdom Conservative Party) of committee on international trade -- were also present at the meeting.

The delegation arrived in Dhaka on a three-day visit on February 10.