Poor state of human rights highlighted

THE Human Rights Forum comprising 19 leading human rights organisations in the country unveiled some disturbing trends over a three year period from 2009-2012 on April 17. From what has been presented it appears that some 462 individuals were killed in one form of encounter or another with law enforcement agencies. A further 156 people were listed "missing" and presumed dead. The data include names of several high profile individuals including BNP Organising Secretary Ilias Ali who went missing more than a year ago and labour union leader Alim -- neither of whom has been heard of since their disappearance.

Sadly, such killings or forced disappearances do little to uplift the image of Bangladesh as a law abiding country. The denial mode which the government appears to be entrenched in is despairing, to say the least. This becomes more evident than ever when Foreign Minister Dipu Moni claims flat out that there have been no cases of "extra-judicial" killings in the country, especially when there is ample evidence to the contrary. Denial hardly serves to further the cause of establishing good governance. Rather it encourages departure from the rule of law and provides a blank cheque to certain law enforcing agencies to act as judge, jury and executioner.

Is it not high time for the government to wake up and face certain ground realities? That the incidents of human rights violation are evidently being perpetrated by members of state organs, and are being done in complete impunity is a sad commentary on the state of affairs. We cannot fathom precisely how a democratically-elected government, especially one which had pledged in its election manifesto to do away with extra-judicial killings now condones it. The ramifications of such practice are not lost on anyone domestically or internationally -- a fact the authorities would be wise to acknowledge.