Spotlight on human rights situation

In the most customary fashion, the state minister for home affairs has trashed the US government's Human Rights Report 2011 for its less than savoury remarks on the deteriorating human rights situation in Bangladesh. The reaction of the government is not altogether surprising given the fact that the State Department's report has highlighted in no uncertain terms the mounting allegations of 'disappearances' and extrajudicial killings in the country. Amnesty International's recent reports portray more or less a similar picture.
Though it may serve the government to reject the report outright terming it as "baseless and motivated", the fact cannot be denied that according to various media reports and local rights organisations, incidents of extrajudicial killings by elite law enforcement agencies like RAB are on the rise. What is alarming to note is that there have been marked reluctance by authorities to investigate allegations where such agencies have overstepped their authority. Apart from extra judicial killings, custodial deaths or arbitrary arrests, the situation has decidedly taken a turn for the worse with the advent of 'disappearances' leaving families bereft of any knowledge of what happened to their dear ones. When one adds the clueless-ness of law enforcers, this is a sure fire prescription for a deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
The increased lawlessness highlighted in the latest report basically reflects what the media and civil society have been stressing over the course of the last few years. Bangladesh may be doing better than several other countries when it comes to human rights records, but the dismissive attitude of public representatives can only be unhelpful. While we may disagree with some details in the reports, we fully endorse their thrust.
Denial mode can only serve to perpetuate more of the same by state outfits that are by definition upholders of the law! Unless the government acts now and takes comprehensive measures to investigate cases of killings by select elements of law enforcement agencies, the situation will not be rectified anytime soon and Bangladesh's human rights situation will continue to receive such adverse comments and our image abroad as a country will continue to suffer.