Law
WANTED PUBLIC SAFETY
Seventy-four people (and counting) have been killed so far since Thursday, 28 February, after the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayedee to death. Following the sentencing of Quader Mollah and the beginning of the Shahbag movement, Jamaat-Shibir activists went on a rampage, announcing hartals, attacking law enforcers and civilians alike with lethal weapons which included grenades and firearms.
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia during these troubled times, expressed her concern over the deaths resulting from the clashes between the police and rioters, characterising the deaths as “genocide and terrorism” being carried out by the government, calling her own hartal in a show of protest.
“Announcing hartals and deploying law enforcers to manage the resulting violence is not a solution to the problem,” says Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of the Executive Committee of Odhikar, a renowned human rights organisation. “In fact, this is just a vicious cycle. Over a hundred people, some of whom are not even political activists have lost their lives during these clashes. We, at Odhikar believe that these extra-judicial killings are a gross violation of human rights and we are in dire need of an investigation into these incidents.”
The rising death toll has brought into question the need for law enforcement officers to use lethal force to control rioters even when alternative methods have been successfully used in the past. “The police cannot always use alternative methods to control rioters,” says former Inspector General (IG) of police, Nurul Huda. “Rubber bullets can be used in certain cases when the crowd is not that violent, and in these recent riots we have seen that the crowd is bent on causing substantial harm. According to the figures given by the Home Minister, 10 percent of the casualties so far have been police personnel. As for pepper spray, it is only effective when used within close range of the target and getting that close is not always possible and can be potentially dangerous. Pepper spray is used to temporarily immobilise someone within close range. To handle an extremely dangerous crowd, lethal weapons are being used, but as a last resort.”
According to the Penal Code, police, like all other civilians have a right to private defense of body and property, “When the police exercise that right that should be perfectly in order” says Huda. “This however should be subjected to enquiry and necessary investigation.”
According to Huda, law enforcement agencies have batons, tear gas and hot water which they usually use (in that order) to control violence at a certain level. Firearms are brought in when all else fails. This of course has its consequences.
“When civilians attack the police in large groups it becomes difficult to control death and injury suffered by the public,” says Huda. “We must keep in mind that we are not at war, therefore both sides are not always armed combatants, so when these attacks happen in residential/populated areas, the police cannot be selective when firing, it is almost impossible to distinguish rioters from bystanders in the crowd. There is never a guarantee that there will not be any collateral damage.”
Huda asserts that the law enforcers have not violated protocol when they used their firearms during these riots. “In Manikganj recently, 15 police officers were badly injured in a clash and the mob would have lynched them, had they not fired,” he explains. “There is no specific procedure that requires a police officer to wait for permission to fire his weapon. If an officer in charge is present, he makes the decision, but since he cannot be there in every situation, any responsible policeman can make that call if he sees there is a bodily threat to himself or any civilian and to government and private property.”
There is however, protocol to be followed after each instance where firearms are used. “Every police firing is initially subjected to an executive inquiry,” explains Huda, “And thereafter if the authorities find it necessary, there can be a judicial inquiry also. The current situation in the country is not exclusively a law and order affair, if you go to the source you will see it is a political affair and it needs to be resolved at the source. The solution may be discussions between the two leading political parties.”
Adilur Rahman Khan agrees, “In a democratic society, the best solution to these conflicts is political dialogue. The police are acting on the government's order. It is up to the government to take steps to curb this situation. The opposition has already asked for a meeting regarding the appointment of a caretaker government to oversee the upcoming elections. The government should take them up on this offer and use the opportunity to come to a compromise regarding the current situation of unrest and tension. The government should also take steps toward having internationally accepted proper trials for war criminals,” he opines.
Khan also suggests that the government take measures to compensate the families of civilian bystanders who have lost their lives and pay the medical bills of those injured as a show of good faith. They should also compensate and provide protection to the Hindu families who have lost their homes and take steps to bring the perpetrators to justice. “Until a dialogue is established however, the situation will only get worse and eventually become unmanageable,” he predicts.