Untold Facts

Rethinking on Hasina’s Liability: Human Rights Watch Report on BDR Massacre, etc.

Thee Human Rights Watch (HRW) based in New York, a worldwide organization concerned with protection of human rights and any violations thereof has prepared and made public its latest report on Bangladesh on the 17th march 2010. The report mainly is concerned with the BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) massacre of 25-26 February 2009.

The report despaired about Hasina government’s failure to make open to all for transparency details about the gruesome massacre of 73 people including 57 army officers, their dead bodies defiled, female members dishonored and killed, etc. from the rank of Major General to Captain at the BDR Head Quarter enclosures extending for two days and two electricity turned off dark nights. The two reports, one made by the army and the other by another government committee though submitted to the government remained in dark so far as transparent knowledge of the people concerned. In the 13 months period that gone by, there are many other machinations for hush up of the real background culprits involved that had been there in pre-planning and from the very beginning. The real identity of persons, groups and organizations involved not only in the matter of occurrence but also in the due process of law for bringing the culprits to justice everything are being hushed up in secrecy. In the meantime, the third report now being stated to be prepared by the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) has gone on further extending time to finish it. Thus the hush up going on from behind the scene is a proved fact. But, why?

According to the HRW report, in the pre trial business interrogation deaths of alleged accused has been recorded at not less than 60 suspected BDR jawans almost all in unnatural way possibly due to torture during physically and mentally cruel interrogation process by police or otherwise. There are many complaints of torture recorded by the relatives of those detained and interrogated. Though six tribunals at various regions including Dhaka have started to function, there are complaints about defense lawyers not permitted to ask any question to the witnesses. The HRW has expressed their serious concern in the crucial matter of fairness of the trials, and has further urged upon the government to release all those who had not yet been indicted.

As things in the matter and also about human rights violations in all areas day in and day out, it appears that Hasina cares little if reports prepared by international agencies on human rights violations in Bangladesh by the law enforcing agencies as they are in fact following her dictates in the due process and so also by the fascist party cadres almost everywhere even in college-university campuses along the length and breadth of the country. The issues, however, remain afloat for talks, criticism and likely actions concerned on the part of the preparing bodies.

Further apart, the Amnesty International (AI) and the US Government have similar reports prepared lately about many other areas published in March 2010 of human rights violations in Bangladesh.

Over and above, since the hanging of the five 15th August heroes through mockery of justice on the 28th January early morning despite opposition in a mass scale by international bodies of high standing, countries, etc, Hasina’s image has fallen low possibly to the lowest level on this account, specifically, in almost all Muslim countries for her abominable attitude of vengeance and vengeance alone. The Five Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia that previously provided nearly 2 million workers of Bangladesh in employment stopped employing new manpower laborers from this country, many rightly guessed, have something to do in this matter. It is well fact that the Saudi Arabia did not accord recognition to Bangladesh for over three and half years until the 15th August (1975) coup and change of mode of the State from secularism that the Saudis hated most to Islamic principles.

Inside the country, there is no free air to breath for the millions of people not believing in the fascist mode of the Hasina government and in all their illegal and anti-social works the Awami groups have been engaged all through the last 14 months for these people are being pursued not only by the bullies of Hasina but also by politically motivated police, intelligence agencies, etc. On the contrary, police and intelligence agencies have been taking all lenient attitudes towards the criminals of the party cadres. It is reported in a Dhaka daily that the 6 known killers of brilliant DU student Abu Baker Siddique since about 6 weeks ago have been moving freely in the Dhaka University campus in front of the on duty police and the intelligence men. Female students of Badrunnessa Girls College, Mymensigh Anada Mohan College and the Eden Girls University College, oldest in the country, not aligned to the ruling party have been living in total fear in the Hostel and in the college campus for the party cadres’ immoral pressure. Many guardians have been thinking about stopping their ward’s academic work there in the vicious immoral climate in the colleges (See, Dhaka dailies The New Nation, Nayadiganta etc, 21 March 2010).

The subtle gagging of the press and media remains a fact since the day one of 2009 January accession of Hasina in the position of the PM but took vicious turn very recently ( See, A. Kabir in Nayadiganta, 21 March 2010). The fearsome scenario reminds us of the 1972-75 days. The renowned political analyst and retired professor of political science Badruddin Umar then had an article published some where in clandestine publication wherein he commented somewhat like this: During Pakistan period in pre 1971 days, when someone would have been arrested for political dissent, one could be certain that the person arrested would be detained and alive in prison, but during Mujib’s rule (1972-75) if some one would have been arrested the most likely happening would have been that the person would not be alive. The more tragic part of the episodes had been that in most cases the bodies of dead would not be returned to the relatives for decent burial but disposed off by the killers in big rivers and heavy river water currents to get lost there soon.

One must not forget that Hasina is the most blood thirsty woman of Bangladesh history. She is not only a megalomaniac but also duly declared by the highest court of the country as the ‘WRONG HEADED’ one. One must not also forget that in her first term (1996-2001) as the PM she had an outstanding order in open public that her cadres must make reprisal killing in figure count ‘ten for one’. She has not revoked the order as yet and so her loyal sycophant followers, in fact, HUQQA HUAs- or braying like jackal leader’s making first the sound followed braying by all other in the team. Only Allah knows how long He would keep the millions of unfortunate Bangladeshis under her shackles of repression and human rights violations. Everyday human rights violations by the Hasina’s operatives both institutional and civilian bullies are just a perpetrated tiny part of the people’s endless sufferings recorded by the international bodies like HRW etc.

Although the report of the HRW appeared somewhat detailed but mysteriously missed the very crucial and important matters behind the scene actors like Hasina’s close men Taposh, Nanak, Azam etc., massacre operators like Torab Ali, Tawheed and the likes. Hasina from the very start had full information of the massacre to the end. and of their real heinous design to weaken and morally shatter the law enforcing agencies and the national army, in particular

Author: HB Khair