Govt won’t repeal DSA
The government will not repeal the Digital Security Act, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said yesterday.
The law is not meant for targeting journalists; rather, it is a tool for the government to tackle the radical forces that destroy religious harmony, he added.
He was speaking at a stakeholder consultation meeting organised by Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital.
The government will soon be rolling out a nationwide programme to make sure the DSA is not misused, he said. "We are counselling the law enforcement agencies [to that end]."
HFRB, a platform of 20 organisations, at the meeting shared a draft of a report it will submit to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the member states to review during a process called the universal periodic review (UPR).
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, responded by saying the law should be repealed and that it will be impossible to amend it.
Alam also slammed the figures reported to the UN on the number of enforced disappearance victims, stating that certain civil society organisations have been identifying themselves as "rights bodies" to hide their political agenda.
"We repeatedly asked Odhikar to give us the details of the victims but they did not comply.
"Can someone give me a list of the victims?" he added, stating that they have a list of 78 victims given by the UN.
The state minister further said that from that list, they are working with the cases of 28 victims of enforced disappearance.
He added, "Ten of the families refused to cooperate with police, while 10 people on the UN's list were later found."
Nur Khan Liton, executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra, said that instead of rejecting these allegations, the government should investigate them.
HFRB's report presented yesterday said that between September 2018 and February 2023, at least 56 persons have been victims of enforced disappearance.
During previous UPRs, Bangladesh had been recommended by UN member states to ratify the UN convention for the protection of persons from enforced disappearance, but Bangladesh had rejected the recommendation.
"I don't want to make any commitment about [accepting the] recommendations that were noted [official term used by the UPR for rejecting]."
The draft report recommended that the government create a level-playing field for all political parties prior to the upcoming national election, to which Alam said that Bangladesh will not return to a caretaker government.
"If we need to change the constitution to bring about a caretaker government, we will not. Everyone must participate in the elections under the existing law.
"The perceived main opposition does not want to … So, we cannot force them."
Huma Khan, senior human rights adviser of UN Resident Coordinator's Office, and Sanjeeb Drong, general secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, were also present at the seminar.
Tamanna Hoq Riti, coordinator of HRFB, presented the draft report.
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