Shimul Chaudhury
of the BAKSAL (Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League) of 1975 when all opposition political parties and newspapers were banned.
During the campaign of the last general election, Awami League never mentioned that, in honour of the founder of BAKSAL Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, it would go back to a one-party political system in Bangladesh. But now we notice an irresistible tendency in the Awami psyche to return to BAKSAL style politics.
Television channels and newspapers are being shut down. Rallies of opposition parties are being thwarted with bright Awami excuses: Awami affiliate organizations call counter rallies at the venue where opposition parties want to hold a meeting; and then the police step in and declare 144 to proscribe any political rallies. On one occasion, obviously directed by the government high-ups in Dhaka, a local UNO emerged in the midst of a political meeting and declared 144 on the spot. Needless to say, if such an episode occurred in the midst of an Awami rally, the UNO would not have returned home alive.
Unlike the first Awami regime of the 1970s, the current Awami government does not shut down a newspaper without an excuse. It locates a Hasmat Ali, takes him away from his home and keeps him in a secret location for 6 hours. Then the country comes to know that this Hasmat Ali sues an editor, on the basis of which the government arrests the editor and shuts down his newspaper.
Unlike the earlier Awami regime, the current one has a big advantage: with the help of a neighbouring country it has produced dozens of 'intellectuals' affiliated with universities who issue moral certificates to Awami human rights violations. Many of these intellectuals appear on TV, write for newspapers and sell statements. They are instrumental in distracting the attention of the people from the pressing issues and in bringing in issues in public attention that have no relevance to the eradication of poverty or to the advancement of the country. These intellectuals will present the 21st-century BAKSAL to the world in a sugar-coated way. Since the Awami League uses the secularism slogan to sell its fascist ideas, the secular west may turn a blind eye to a one-party political system in Bangladesh. However, the people of Bangladesh will have to bear the brunt of the atrocities of such a one-party political system.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Thoughts on BAKSAL, Mahmudur Rahman and the media
Shimul Chaudhury
This is a fact and not a fiction. That regime committed a criminal act and waged a war against democracy, for which Awami League has never apologized. People of the country including those belonging to Awami League know this very well.
The political strategy the current Awami regime is following gives us a clear signal that Sheikh Hasina’s government wants to remain in power for a very long time by re-establishing the one-party political system in Bangladesh; and that is why she is stifling political dissents and disallowing opposition rallies, which she may dare to believe will lead to the perpetual rule of her party.
Despite this blatant undemocratic stance of Awami League, both domestic and foreign media are largely silent about Awami brutalities. Since the media largely influence public opinion, people of the country are thus kept in oblivion about the fascist nature of the current regime in Bangladesh. What a section of media usually highlights, for example, is Jamaat-e-Islam’s political stance of 1971 in favour of a united Pakistan. After about four decades of the liberation of Bangladesh, Jamaat’s political stance in 1971 can be interpreted in two ways: firstly, it was totally wrong to espouse to retain a united Pakistan given all the inequalities that existed between West Pakistan and East Pakistan; secondly, the way Indian BSF personnel are killing hundreds of Bangladeshis every year and given other Indian economic and political exploitations of Bangladesh may vindicate the Jamaat fear of 1971 that a Bangladesh axed from Pakistan would be subject to Indian hostilities, which is actually the present day reality. However, this is a matter of political and historical analysis and should be done in an academic way.
Nonetheless, if Jamaat’s stance was wrong (and I believe it was), it can also be interpreted as its right to hold a political opinion. What is important to note is that Jamaat leaders have wholeheartedly accepted Bangladesh and shown loyalty to the state. I do not know any Jamaat leader who has said that Bangladesh should rejoin Pakistan. In terms of the gravity of crime, establishing BAKSAL was not a lesser offense. What is more, Awami League has not yet declared that it would never pursue such a political goal and their current activities suggest that they do not tolerate any opposition parties or dissent voices. The current Awami government has practically turned many police stations in Bangladesh into torture cells for the opposition party people and for the ones like Mahmudur Rahman who expose the regime’s misdeeds.
Unfortunately, the Awami BAKSAL crime is not highlighted in the media. The line of reporting of a section of Bangladeshi newspapers seems to meet the ‘wishes’ of a neighboring country that is bent on scoring political and economic dividends from Bangladesh while Awami League in power. Shutting down electronic and print media is now deemed to be taken for granted. While an editor is being tortured most inhumanly in police custody, many media agencies are turning blind eyes to the regime’s fascist inclination. Tortures on Mahmudur Rahman have now become a normal practice and many media people are not using their influence to rescue him.
Let us imagine that an editor of one of the many newspapers ‘loyal’ to the neighboring country is tortured in the way Mahmudur Rahman is, what would be the reaction of the local and international media? The leverage of our neighbouring country in international politics and in the media world may be the main reason why global media is largely silent about the tortures on Mahmudur Rahman. It is true that being a poor country we may not be able to exercise such leverage in the near future. But what is frustrating is that a section of our local media is also keen on going along with outside instructions in its reportage.
Mahmudur Rahman’s patriotism is now being tested, and I believe he will remain firm and true to his country in the face of all these state persecutions. We pray to God so that we will see him alive and unharmed after the inhuman remand tortures he is going through at the moment. Mahmudur Rahman’s love for the country has set a target which is beyond the reach many editors who are busy earning the pleasure of the regime.
We know about a number of sweet sounding international organizations like Amnesty International, PEN, Article 19, Reporters sans frontier and Human Rights Watch that are supposed to defend free speech and human rights. Unfortunately, we may not see their intervention to stop the tortures on Mahmudur Rahman, and that is perhaps because he does not fit in their international political agendas. However, I strongly believe that a Mahmudur Rahman – alive or dead – after these tortures in remands will have a greater claim on the gratitude of the people of Bangladesh. A true national hero is in the making, while editors of many newspapers are carousing in the kitchen and pantry of Awami League and its foreign patrons.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/16.php
This is a fact and not a fiction. That regime committed a criminal act and waged a war against democracy, for which Awami League has never apologized. People of the country including those belonging to Awami League know this very well.
The political strategy the current Awami regime is following gives us a clear signal that Sheikh Hasina’s government wants to remain in power for a very long time by re-establishing the one-party political system in Bangladesh; and that is why she is stifling political dissents and disallowing opposition rallies, which she may dare to believe will lead to the perpetual rule of her party.
Despite this blatant undemocratic stance of Awami League, both domestic and foreign media are largely silent about Awami brutalities. Since the media largely influence public opinion, people of the country are thus kept in oblivion about the fascist nature of the current regime in Bangladesh. What a section of media usually highlights, for example, is Jamaat-e-Islam’s political stance of 1971 in favour of a united Pakistan. After about four decades of the liberation of Bangladesh, Jamaat’s political stance in 1971 can be interpreted in two ways: firstly, it was totally wrong to espouse to retain a united Pakistan given all the inequalities that existed between West Pakistan and East Pakistan; secondly, the way Indian BSF personnel are killing hundreds of Bangladeshis every year and given other Indian economic and political exploitations of Bangladesh may vindicate the Jamaat fear of 1971 that a Bangladesh axed from Pakistan would be subject to Indian hostilities, which is actually the present day reality. However, this is a matter of political and historical analysis and should be done in an academic way.
Nonetheless, if Jamaat’s stance was wrong (and I believe it was), it can also be interpreted as its right to hold a political opinion. What is important to note is that Jamaat leaders have wholeheartedly accepted Bangladesh and shown loyalty to the state. I do not know any Jamaat leader who has said that Bangladesh should rejoin Pakistan. In terms of the gravity of crime, establishing BAKSAL was not a lesser offense. What is more, Awami League has not yet declared that it would never pursue such a political goal and their current activities suggest that they do not tolerate any opposition parties or dissent voices. The current Awami government has practically turned many police stations in Bangladesh into torture cells for the opposition party people and for the ones like Mahmudur Rahman who expose the regime’s misdeeds.
Unfortunately, the Awami BAKSAL crime is not highlighted in the media. The line of reporting of a section of Bangladeshi newspapers seems to meet the ‘wishes’ of a neighboring country that is bent on scoring political and economic dividends from Bangladesh while Awami League in power. Shutting down electronic and print media is now deemed to be taken for granted. While an editor is being tortured most inhumanly in police custody, many media agencies are turning blind eyes to the regime’s fascist inclination. Tortures on Mahmudur Rahman have now become a normal practice and many media people are not using their influence to rescue him.
Let us imagine that an editor of one of the many newspapers ‘loyal’ to the neighboring country is tortured in the way Mahmudur Rahman is, what would be the reaction of the local and international media? The leverage of our neighbouring country in international politics and in the media world may be the main reason why global media is largely silent about the tortures on Mahmudur Rahman. It is true that being a poor country we may not be able to exercise such leverage in the near future. But what is frustrating is that a section of our local media is also keen on going along with outside instructions in its reportage.
Mahmudur Rahman’s patriotism is now being tested, and I believe he will remain firm and true to his country in the face of all these state persecutions. We pray to God so that we will see him alive and unharmed after the inhuman remand tortures he is going through at the moment. Mahmudur Rahman’s love for the country has set a target which is beyond the reach many editors who are busy earning the pleasure of the regime.
We know about a number of sweet sounding international organizations like Amnesty International, PEN, Article 19, Reporters sans frontier and Human Rights Watch that are supposed to defend free speech and human rights. Unfortunately, we may not see their intervention to stop the tortures on Mahmudur Rahman, and that is perhaps because he does not fit in their international political agendas. However, I strongly believe that a Mahmudur Rahman – alive or dead – after these tortures in remands will have a greater claim on the gratitude of the people of Bangladesh. A true national hero is in the making, while editors of many newspapers are carousing in the kitchen and pantry of Awami League and its foreign patrons.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/16.php
Thoughts on RU Incident: Untold Facts
Shimul Chaudhury
Shibir leaders have categorically denied such involvement and iterated that intra-party conflict within the Chattra League cadres of RU left one of them dead and few other wounded. Police’s mysterious role and complicity has also been referred to by Jamaat-Shibir people and questioned by some media. Without any certainty about the identity of the perpetrators of the murder of Faruk Hossain, on the provocation of the people in power, police allegedly shot dead a Shibir activist in Chapainobabgonj apparently to be in the good books of the ruling party, while the terrorists of Chattra League chopped a bright Shibir worker of Chittagong University to death when he was on his way back to his dormitory after doing his usual tuition duties. Many Jamaat-Shibir people have been attacked and badly wounded at their homes and in the street, many Jamaat-Shibir offices have been burnt and vandalized and many educational institutions run by them have been damaged, leaving many traumatized and tortured and many parts of the country in lawlessness. Such misdeeds are continuing unabated. While the murder of Faruk is being highlighted with hype, the atrocities and havoc wreaked by Awami-Chhatra-Jubo League people are under-reported and under-emphasized. There were 13 political murders in Bangladesh in February 2010, but the Awami government had singled out one incident to repress Islamic elements in the country.
On the same day when Faruk was killed, BNP councilor Ahamad Hossain of Dhaka City Corporation Ward-70 was murdered as he was leaving masjid, robbers looted a residence at East Goran in Dhaka and killed an old woman of the family, ruling party extortionists beat up and shot on the right leg of a businessman named Alamgir Hossain in Chougachha of Jessore as he refused to pay toll and as he sought police help, about 30 people were injured as factions of Awami League clashed in Narayanganj and Chuadanga. The list of such incidents occurred on the day Faruk died goes on. Days before, Abubakar Siddique, a meritorious student of Dhaka University hailing from a poor farmer family had to give his life for the factional clashes of Chhatra League in Sir AF Rahman Hall of the University; only a month ago, a Bangladesh Chhatra Maitree leader Rejanul Islam Chowdhury Sunny was killed in broad daylight by Chhatra League hooligans at the campus of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute; months ago, the general secretary of Shibir unit of Rajshahi University, Sharifuzzaman Nomani was killed by Chhatra League cadres at the University. Chhatra League activists of Dhaka's Cantonment unit killed their leader AKM Faruk Hossain on 12 Feb 2010.
Government took retributive and punitive measures only in the case of the murder of Faruk Hossain at Rajshahi University on 9 February 2010. No investigation committee was formed and no large-scale arrests were made after the death of other victims. Nor did those deaths make big newspaper headlines for consecutive days. In the last few decades about 135 Shibir leaders and activists were killed in different educational institutions of Bangladesh and many of them by Chhatra League hooligans. According to a report by a pro-Awami League English daily, the Daily Star (10 Feb 2010), since Awami League took office on 6 January 2009, at least five students have been killed and hundreds injured across the country, and all involving Chhatra League.
No murder or violence committed by Chhatra League prompted any call for banning its politics, there was no mobilization of police forces, no police officer was suspended for negligence of duties, no ministers appeared on the media with a declaration of war on the criminals, no ministers called on the police to launch a crack-down on Chhatra League, no offices of Awami-Chhatra-Jubo League were attacked or burnt down, no senior police officer had to rush to the scene, so on and so forth. The list of such inaction upon the hooliganism of Chhatra League goes on. This inaction is not only a fact with regard to Chhatra League; it is also very much true in regard of the regular murders of Bangladeshi citizens by BSF. We hear almost nothing from the Prime Minister and from other senior people in power in Bangladesh over the routine killings of Bangladeshis by Indian border security forces in the border region. While internally the blood of Awami-Chhatra- Jubo League is more precious than that of the rest of the people of Bangladesh, externally the blood of Bangladeshis does not count much in the Awami imagination when it is shed by the ‘friendly’ neighbour. Whose interest is this government serving? Which country do Awami ministers belong to? Who voted them to power and who are now using them?
Since the Awami regime came to power, hundreds of Shibir activists only of Dhaka University have been ousted from their dormitories and many of them cannot come to the campus. Many of them were attacked even in the exam halls of Dhaka University while the panicked Shibir students were sitting for exam, and that in the presence of helpless teachers. Torture of Shibir students by Chhatra League at the DU campus has become a regular taken-for-granted incident. Scared Shibir students do not want to open their mouths fearing that reporting such tortures would thwart their education, while a great number of Shibir students abandoned their education at Dhaka University. Only few weeks ago, the central president of Chhatra Dal was severely attacked by Chhatra League cadres at Dhaka University, in which the Proctor of the University was also seriously wounded and admitted to a hospital. Democracy for Shibir students in many places in Bangladesh is non-existent. All these undemocratic practices of hostile parties and all these tortures on Shibir boys make their conviction and loyalty to Shibir only stronger, which Awami League’s arrogance does not let its affiliates understand.
If students involved in Shibir were murderous and violent, it would first be reflected within the fabric of the organization. But the opposite is true. Since the birth of Shibir, there has not been a single incident of factional clashes among Shibir men. In all the places where Shibir is dominant, there has not been a single incident of money extortion by Shibir people. A look at, and comparison with, other student organizations will tell much louder about the character of Shibir people. These facts are Shibir’s strength. Awami-Chhatra-Jubo League violence on Shibir and media disinformation on the organization will one day be exposed; but what Shibir stands for will remain and may triumph.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/2.php
Shibir leaders have categorically denied such involvement and iterated that intra-party conflict within the Chattra League cadres of RU left one of them dead and few other wounded. Police’s mysterious role and complicity has also been referred to by Jamaat-Shibir people and questioned by some media. Without any certainty about the identity of the perpetrators of the murder of Faruk Hossain, on the provocation of the people in power, police allegedly shot dead a Shibir activist in Chapainobabgonj apparently to be in the good books of the ruling party, while the terrorists of Chattra League chopped a bright Shibir worker of Chittagong University to death when he was on his way back to his dormitory after doing his usual tuition duties. Many Jamaat-Shibir people have been attacked and badly wounded at their homes and in the street, many Jamaat-Shibir offices have been burnt and vandalized and many educational institutions run by them have been damaged, leaving many traumatized and tortured and many parts of the country in lawlessness. Such misdeeds are continuing unabated. While the murder of Faruk is being highlighted with hype, the atrocities and havoc wreaked by Awami-Chhatra-Jubo League people are under-reported and under-emphasized. There were 13 political murders in Bangladesh in February 2010, but the Awami government had singled out one incident to repress Islamic elements in the country.
On the same day when Faruk was killed, BNP councilor Ahamad Hossain of Dhaka City Corporation Ward-70 was murdered as he was leaving masjid, robbers looted a residence at East Goran in Dhaka and killed an old woman of the family, ruling party extortionists beat up and shot on the right leg of a businessman named Alamgir Hossain in Chougachha of Jessore as he refused to pay toll and as he sought police help, about 30 people were injured as factions of Awami League clashed in Narayanganj and Chuadanga. The list of such incidents occurred on the day Faruk died goes on. Days before, Abubakar Siddique, a meritorious student of Dhaka University hailing from a poor farmer family had to give his life for the factional clashes of Chhatra League in Sir AF Rahman Hall of the University; only a month ago, a Bangladesh Chhatra Maitree leader Rejanul Islam Chowdhury Sunny was killed in broad daylight by Chhatra League hooligans at the campus of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute; months ago, the general secretary of Shibir unit of Rajshahi University, Sharifuzzaman Nomani was killed by Chhatra League cadres at the University. Chhatra League activists of Dhaka's Cantonment unit killed their leader AKM Faruk Hossain on 12 Feb 2010.
Government took retributive and punitive measures only in the case of the murder of Faruk Hossain at Rajshahi University on 9 February 2010. No investigation committee was formed and no large-scale arrests were made after the death of other victims. Nor did those deaths make big newspaper headlines for consecutive days. In the last few decades about 135 Shibir leaders and activists were killed in different educational institutions of Bangladesh and many of them by Chhatra League hooligans. According to a report by a pro-Awami League English daily, the Daily Star (10 Feb 2010), since Awami League took office on 6 January 2009, at least five students have been killed and hundreds injured across the country, and all involving Chhatra League.
No murder or violence committed by Chhatra League prompted any call for banning its politics, there was no mobilization of police forces, no police officer was suspended for negligence of duties, no ministers appeared on the media with a declaration of war on the criminals, no ministers called on the police to launch a crack-down on Chhatra League, no offices of Awami-Chhatra-Jubo League were attacked or burnt down, no senior police officer had to rush to the scene, so on and so forth. The list of such inaction upon the hooliganism of Chhatra League goes on. This inaction is not only a fact with regard to Chhatra League; it is also very much true in regard of the regular murders of Bangladeshi citizens by BSF. We hear almost nothing from the Prime Minister and from other senior people in power in Bangladesh over the routine killings of Bangladeshis by Indian border security forces in the border region. While internally the blood of Awami-Chhatra- Jubo League is more precious than that of the rest of the people of Bangladesh, externally the blood of Bangladeshis does not count much in the Awami imagination when it is shed by the ‘friendly’ neighbour. Whose interest is this government serving? Which country do Awami ministers belong to? Who voted them to power and who are now using them?
Since the Awami regime came to power, hundreds of Shibir activists only of Dhaka University have been ousted from their dormitories and many of them cannot come to the campus. Many of them were attacked even in the exam halls of Dhaka University while the panicked Shibir students were sitting for exam, and that in the presence of helpless teachers. Torture of Shibir students by Chhatra League at the DU campus has become a regular taken-for-granted incident. Scared Shibir students do not want to open their mouths fearing that reporting such tortures would thwart their education, while a great number of Shibir students abandoned their education at Dhaka University. Only few weeks ago, the central president of Chhatra Dal was severely attacked by Chhatra League cadres at Dhaka University, in which the Proctor of the University was also seriously wounded and admitted to a hospital. Democracy for Shibir students in many places in Bangladesh is non-existent. All these undemocratic practices of hostile parties and all these tortures on Shibir boys make their conviction and loyalty to Shibir only stronger, which Awami League’s arrogance does not let its affiliates understand.
If students involved in Shibir were murderous and violent, it would first be reflected within the fabric of the organization. But the opposite is true. Since the birth of Shibir, there has not been a single incident of factional clashes among Shibir men. In all the places where Shibir is dominant, there has not been a single incident of money extortion by Shibir people. A look at, and comparison with, other student organizations will tell much louder about the character of Shibir people. These facts are Shibir’s strength. Awami-Chhatra-Jubo League violence on Shibir and media disinformation on the organization will one day be exposed; but what Shibir stands for will remain and may triumph.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/2.php
In Memoriam 28 October 2006
Shimul Chaudhury
There is another more obvious reason why many people especially the so-called secular intellectuals in Bangladesh and abroad will remain oblivious to that tragic day: the people who were murdered on the streets of Dhaka on that day were ‘Islamic’ belonging to a religious group Nowadays, such murders do not seem to draw much pity or make big headlines. Some credit goes to two former “leaders” – George Bush and Tony Blair – who began the twenty-first century with unlawful killings of humans in their hundreds and thousands. These days killing the Muslims globally and the people belonging to Islamic parties in Muslim lands locally are taken-for-granted matters. Even in non-Muslim countries with a better law and order situation, killing a Muslim does not seem to stir much public furor. In 2009, in the city of Dresden in Germany a Muslim woman of Egyptian descent was first teased, harassed and then killed at broad day light in courtroom. The Western media including the secular ones in Muslim countries did not give adequate focus on that unlawful killing. Apparently, the blood of the Muslims is considered cheaper than that of their fellow human beings.
On the eve of the handover of power from the BNP-Jamaat ruling alliance to the caretaker government, like other political parties, Jamaat organized a big rally in Dhaka to celebrate peacefully the successful power handover. Jamaat’s rally was at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram masjid while Awami League gathered at Paltan for a different purpose, and in a different manner. The latter wanted to defy the outgoing BNP-Jamaat alliance and demonstrate its brawn power. Many newspapers used words like “clashes between the activists of the outgoing ruling alliance and the opposition.” But actually what happened should not be described in such simple terms.
Awami League chairperson who is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh now had told her party men to bring 'logi-boitha' (pole-oar) to their rally on that day. Her party men brought – together with logi-boitha – fire arms, knives and other lethal weapons for purposes the people of Bangladesh did not understand until they actually saw Sheikh Hasina’s men in action. Without any provocation whatsoever, her party men first attacked Jamaat-Shibir people who were caught on their way to the Jamaat rally. The whole world saw how the professional Awami hooligans beat up to death about ten Jamaat-Shibir people on the streets of Dhaka on broad day light. Then they attacked the Jamaat-Shibir rally and tried to kill its senior leaders. Such killings were unprecedented on the streets of Dhaka for decades. For the post-1971 generation, those killings worked as a vindication of what their parents told them about the lawlessness and ruthless murders committed by the Raksi Bahini during the BAKSAL regime after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
The killings of 28 October 2006 had its digitalized Awami flavor. As usual, Awami League tried to put the blame of the killings on the scapegoat Jamaat in two ways. First, they hired few local reprobate father figures who in a dispassionate and frosty fashion claimed some of the dead bodies of their own sons’. When this did not work, Awami League went for the digital option. They simulated some pictures in computer and printed big posters which they pasted on the walls of Dhaka and exerted a futile exercise of scapegoating. Thus Awami League did not spare the bereaved families whose grief was still permeated by shock and disbelief.
On 28 October 2006 I was in Dhaka, as I went to Bangladesh for spending few weeks with my family members. I met many so-called intellectuals and Dhaka University professors who claim to be the moral authority in the country and are usually loud in claiming their share in the independence of the country in 1971. Unfortunately, I did not find any of them at least regretting for what happened on the streets of Dhaka on 28 October 2006. Some other secular intellectuals who took note of it dismissed it as political clashes. However, had the casualties belonged to a secular party and the killers been ‘Islamic people’, the media coverage, the international ruckus and the reaction of the Islamophobe intellectuals in Dhaka would have been completely different. Who knows, it could incite another military adventure as in Afghanistan and Iraq. I believe condoning such killings as Awami League perpetrated on that day makes none of us safer. Such exercise of muscular power is contagious and may turn to anybody within or without the Awami League. I am not a member of any political party in Bangladesh. I have written this piece, as I still carry the traumatic memory of the brutalities in Dhaka on 28 October 2006. The question of justice may seem irrelevant, as Sheikh Hasina – who told her party men to bring 'logi-boitha' (pole-oar) – is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh now. I pity Bangladesh!
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/1.php
There is another more obvious reason why many people especially the so-called secular intellectuals in Bangladesh and abroad will remain oblivious to that tragic day: the people who were murdered on the streets of Dhaka on that day were ‘Islamic’ belonging to a religious group Nowadays, such murders do not seem to draw much pity or make big headlines. Some credit goes to two former “leaders” – George Bush and Tony Blair – who began the twenty-first century with unlawful killings of humans in their hundreds and thousands. These days killing the Muslims globally and the people belonging to Islamic parties in Muslim lands locally are taken-for-granted matters. Even in non-Muslim countries with a better law and order situation, killing a Muslim does not seem to stir much public furor. In 2009, in the city of Dresden in Germany a Muslim woman of Egyptian descent was first teased, harassed and then killed at broad day light in courtroom. The Western media including the secular ones in Muslim countries did not give adequate focus on that unlawful killing. Apparently, the blood of the Muslims is considered cheaper than that of their fellow human beings.
On the eve of the handover of power from the BNP-Jamaat ruling alliance to the caretaker government, like other political parties, Jamaat organized a big rally in Dhaka to celebrate peacefully the successful power handover. Jamaat’s rally was at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram masjid while Awami League gathered at Paltan for a different purpose, and in a different manner. The latter wanted to defy the outgoing BNP-Jamaat alliance and demonstrate its brawn power. Many newspapers used words like “clashes between the activists of the outgoing ruling alliance and the opposition.” But actually what happened should not be described in such simple terms.
Awami League chairperson who is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh now had told her party men to bring 'logi-boitha' (pole-oar) to their rally on that day. Her party men brought – together with logi-boitha – fire arms, knives and other lethal weapons for purposes the people of Bangladesh did not understand until they actually saw Sheikh Hasina’s men in action. Without any provocation whatsoever, her party men first attacked Jamaat-Shibir people who were caught on their way to the Jamaat rally. The whole world saw how the professional Awami hooligans beat up to death about ten Jamaat-Shibir people on the streets of Dhaka on broad day light. Then they attacked the Jamaat-Shibir rally and tried to kill its senior leaders. Such killings were unprecedented on the streets of Dhaka for decades. For the post-1971 generation, those killings worked as a vindication of what their parents told them about the lawlessness and ruthless murders committed by the Raksi Bahini during the BAKSAL regime after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
The killings of 28 October 2006 had its digitalized Awami flavor. As usual, Awami League tried to put the blame of the killings on the scapegoat Jamaat in two ways. First, they hired few local reprobate father figures who in a dispassionate and frosty fashion claimed some of the dead bodies of their own sons’. When this did not work, Awami League went for the digital option. They simulated some pictures in computer and printed big posters which they pasted on the walls of Dhaka and exerted a futile exercise of scapegoating. Thus Awami League did not spare the bereaved families whose grief was still permeated by shock and disbelief.
On 28 October 2006 I was in Dhaka, as I went to Bangladesh for spending few weeks with my family members. I met many so-called intellectuals and Dhaka University professors who claim to be the moral authority in the country and are usually loud in claiming their share in the independence of the country in 1971. Unfortunately, I did not find any of them at least regretting for what happened on the streets of Dhaka on 28 October 2006. Some other secular intellectuals who took note of it dismissed it as political clashes. However, had the casualties belonged to a secular party and the killers been ‘Islamic people’, the media coverage, the international ruckus and the reaction of the Islamophobe intellectuals in Dhaka would have been completely different. Who knows, it could incite another military adventure as in Afghanistan and Iraq. I believe condoning such killings as Awami League perpetrated on that day makes none of us safer. Such exercise of muscular power is contagious and may turn to anybody within or without the Awami League. I am not a member of any political party in Bangladesh. I have written this piece, as I still carry the traumatic memory of the brutalities in Dhaka on 28 October 2006. The question of justice may seem irrelevant, as Sheikh Hasina – who told her party men to bring 'logi-boitha' (pole-oar) – is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh now. I pity Bangladesh!
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/1.php
Reasons for collective actions to shield Mahmudur Rahman from Awami regime's cruel exercise of power
Shimul Chaudhury
If the repressive regime takes this long vacation as an opportunity to persecute this patriotic man in police custody, freedom loving people in Bangladesh and beyond have a very good reason to feel disturbed.
On a personal note, let me make it very clear that I am not a member of any political groups in Bangladesh. But I have deep respect for Mr Rahman, as I know that he has been honest and brave in exposing the wrongdoings of the people in power. When many columnists remained largely silent and exercised self-censorship during the last army-backed government, he was the one to write relentlessly against human rights violations during those two years. He was the man to challenge them! After Awami League came to power, he continued writing for the betterment of his country and against India's political and economic hegemony in the region and against the Bangladesh government's subservient policies.
Recently I contacted a lawyer who has been partly involved in handling Mr Rahman's case. This is what he said to me:
"He [Mahmudur Rahman] was taken to an unknown place, eyes were folded, he was undressed, tortured,,,,was not allowed to sign a letter of authority for 'appointment of lawyer' (it was later allowed), he was kept in police custody without food and drink for long hours, he was not allowed to see his lawyers / family members for over 24 hours. He was arrested on 1 June, by now he has lost his weight @ 7 Kgs, he was taken on police custody for interrogation in criminal cases which were filed after he had been arrested!!!.....his life is endangered. Please see the reports (Naya Diganta, Amar Desh, others 3 June - 15 June). His very arrest was unlawful. He said to his lawyers/family members and even to the Court that he had been brutally tortured: physically and mentally....starvation, inhuman and degrading treatments in violation of all norms of human rights, constitutional safeguards....all have taken place by now...."
Upon court appearance, Mr Rahman told the judge that he was not supposed to be alive after what he had gone through in police custody and asked the judge to save his life.
Historically, Awami League, the political party currently in power in Bangladesh has always been against freedom of the press. On June 16, 1975, the then Awami League government had closed all newspapers except four under government control and banned all other political groups. Since this regime came to power in early 2009, it has kept torturing people of opposition political groups, threatening journalists and shut down television channels like Channel 1and Jamuna TV, and the second most widely-circulated newspaper Amar Desh.
What I have gathered after reading different news stories on Mr Mahmudur Rahman's arrest and tortures on him is that: He was severely tortured by unidentified five people in one early morning in the name of remand; he was blindfolded, stripped naked. When those men started torturing him, he fainted and remained senseless for many hours. He was questioned not about the issues relating to his cases; but about other extra-judicial matters.
People in Bangladesh believe that Mr Rahman has been the target mainly for his writings where he talked about the regime's complicity in the killings of about 60 army officers in February 2009 and about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Joy's involvement in financial corruptions.
I most humbly request all to do whatever they can to put pressure on the Bangladesh government to rescue this uncompromising writer.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/14.php
If the repressive regime takes this long vacation as an opportunity to persecute this patriotic man in police custody, freedom loving people in Bangladesh and beyond have a very good reason to feel disturbed.
On a personal note, let me make it very clear that I am not a member of any political groups in Bangladesh. But I have deep respect for Mr Rahman, as I know that he has been honest and brave in exposing the wrongdoings of the people in power. When many columnists remained largely silent and exercised self-censorship during the last army-backed government, he was the one to write relentlessly against human rights violations during those two years. He was the man to challenge them! After Awami League came to power, he continued writing for the betterment of his country and against India's political and economic hegemony in the region and against the Bangladesh government's subservient policies.
Recently I contacted a lawyer who has been partly involved in handling Mr Rahman's case. This is what he said to me:
"He [Mahmudur Rahman] was taken to an unknown place, eyes were folded, he was undressed, tortured,,,,was not allowed to sign a letter of authority for 'appointment of lawyer' (it was later allowed), he was kept in police custody without food and drink for long hours, he was not allowed to see his lawyers / family members for over 24 hours. He was arrested on 1 June, by now he has lost his weight @ 7 Kgs, he was taken on police custody for interrogation in criminal cases which were filed after he had been arrested!!!.....his life is endangered. Please see the reports (Naya Diganta, Amar Desh, others 3 June - 15 June). His very arrest was unlawful. He said to his lawyers/family members and even to the Court that he had been brutally tortured: physically and mentally....starvation, inhuman and degrading treatments in violation of all norms of human rights, constitutional safeguards....all have taken place by now...."
Upon court appearance, Mr Rahman told the judge that he was not supposed to be alive after what he had gone through in police custody and asked the judge to save his life.
Historically, Awami League, the political party currently in power in Bangladesh has always been against freedom of the press. On June 16, 1975, the then Awami League government had closed all newspapers except four under government control and banned all other political groups. Since this regime came to power in early 2009, it has kept torturing people of opposition political groups, threatening journalists and shut down television channels like Channel 1and Jamuna TV, and the second most widely-circulated newspaper Amar Desh.
What I have gathered after reading different news stories on Mr Mahmudur Rahman's arrest and tortures on him is that: He was severely tortured by unidentified five people in one early morning in the name of remand; he was blindfolded, stripped naked. When those men started torturing him, he fainted and remained senseless for many hours. He was questioned not about the issues relating to his cases; but about other extra-judicial matters.
People in Bangladesh believe that Mr Rahman has been the target mainly for his writings where he talked about the regime's complicity in the killings of about 60 army officers in February 2009 and about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Joy's involvement in financial corruptions.
I most humbly request all to do whatever they can to put pressure on the Bangladesh government to rescue this uncompromising writer.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/14.php
BSF Killings and Awami League
Shimul Chaudhury
When the BSF thugs routinely kill Bangladeshis in the border regions, they do not discriminate whether their victims in Bangladesh belong to Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party or Jama'at. However, in condemning BSF's regular violations of human rights and its killings of Bangladeshis, Bangladeshi political parties are sharply divided. Some Bangladeshi political parties raise hue and cry now and then to register their protests against BSF's murderous actions. But, unfortunately, a very prominent Bangladeshi political party remains dead silent with regard to BSF's wrongdoings.
This tells us about the sad story of Bangladeshi politics, as the political parties are not united even in protecting the country people from foreign aggression. This also suggests the success of Indian foreign policy, as it has a very loyal political group in Bangladesh that looks after India's interest blindly and is ready to ignore Bangladesh's interest when India's political and strategic interest is involved.
If the Bangladeshi party loyal to India were selective in its condemnation of BSF's routine murders, then we would have some consolation. What is frustrating is the fact that its silence about India'a atrocities is absolute. When India is in the scene, it does not bother whether the BSF victims are from its own party or from other parties. In other words, the security of the people who voted that party to power do not count much in its imagination.
The whole world is stunned by the Israeli atrocities directed to the Palestinians and to people who try to stand by them. But, there is a striking analogy: Palestine and Bangladesh: Israel and India. This analogy is perhaps the reason why India is a strong ally of Israel. More so, the political party in Bangladesh that is silent about India's illegal cruelty inflicted on Bangladeshis is also largely silent about Israel's monstrous behaviour.
Bangladeshi people are politically highly sensitive, but extremely naive. But when they come to know the real story of the friendship between their oppressors outside the border and a party within the country they vote for, they may exercise their democratic rights more wisely in future.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/12.php
When the BSF thugs routinely kill Bangladeshis in the border regions, they do not discriminate whether their victims in Bangladesh belong to Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party or Jama'at. However, in condemning BSF's regular violations of human rights and its killings of Bangladeshis, Bangladeshi political parties are sharply divided. Some Bangladeshi political parties raise hue and cry now and then to register their protests against BSF's murderous actions. But, unfortunately, a very prominent Bangladeshi political party remains dead silent with regard to BSF's wrongdoings.
This tells us about the sad story of Bangladeshi politics, as the political parties are not united even in protecting the country people from foreign aggression. This also suggests the success of Indian foreign policy, as it has a very loyal political group in Bangladesh that looks after India's interest blindly and is ready to ignore Bangladesh's interest when India's political and strategic interest is involved.
If the Bangladeshi party loyal to India were selective in its condemnation of BSF's routine murders, then we would have some consolation. What is frustrating is the fact that its silence about India'a atrocities is absolute. When India is in the scene, it does not bother whether the BSF victims are from its own party or from other parties. In other words, the security of the people who voted that party to power do not count much in its imagination.
The whole world is stunned by the Israeli atrocities directed to the Palestinians and to people who try to stand by them. But, there is a striking analogy: Palestine and Bangladesh: Israel and India. This analogy is perhaps the reason why India is a strong ally of Israel. More so, the political party in Bangladesh that is silent about India's illegal cruelty inflicted on Bangladeshis is also largely silent about Israel's monstrous behaviour.
Bangladeshi people are politically highly sensitive, but extremely naive. But when they come to know the real story of the friendship between their oppressors outside the border and a party within the country they vote for, they may exercise their democratic rights more wisely in future.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/12.php
New polarization in Bangladeshi politics
Shimul Chaudhury
twentieth century, politicians made dividends on two demons: anti-liberation forces and the military autocratic regime of General Ershad. However, using his political card, the despotic, tyrannical Ershad has now been able to erase the astounding and atrocious record of corruption and misuse of office. He has been graciously embraced by Awami League, which gives him the credit of a kingmaker.
Since a big chunk of the media is generally generous to Awami League, this marriage between it and Ershad’s Jatia Party has been taken for granted, for which Awami League has not had to pay any political price at all. However, BNP was not forgiven. An all-out attack has been on the party for making an alliance with Jamaat, commonly branded as an anti-liberation political force in Bangladesh.
Interestingly, since Awami League came to power this time, its usual anti-Jamaat stance has had an added dimension. Government ministers and Awami intellectuals have now been increasingly distrustful of all Islamic elements including people regular in mosques. This becomes more obvious when we see the Awami purists become wary and suspicious of the Islamic people in the rank and file of the party. They tend to launch purging operations to get rid of elements that refuse to comply with its new vision and strategy.
This new vision and strategy of Awami League is highly influenced by two overarching considerations: loyalty to India and cultural syncreticism which espouses inclusion of Hindu cultural values in the name of sub-continental indigenous traditions. Eventually, among the Awami affiliates, people who find it inconceivable to bow down to Indian political, economic and cultural hegemony and to embrace Hindu cultural values will feel misfit within the party. Until that happens, I anticipate tensions within the Awami League, as the historical experiences of the Muslims of this region will forbid many members and sympathizers of Awami League to comply with its pro-India and pro-Hindu leanings. Beyond the rim of the internal politics of Awami League, Bangladesh is at a crossroads, as despite all protestations of politicians it now struggles to remain an independent country in the true sense of the term.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/11.php
twentieth century, politicians made dividends on two demons: anti-liberation forces and the military autocratic regime of General Ershad. However, using his political card, the despotic, tyrannical Ershad has now been able to erase the astounding and atrocious record of corruption and misuse of office. He has been graciously embraced by Awami League, which gives him the credit of a kingmaker.
Since a big chunk of the media is generally generous to Awami League, this marriage between it and Ershad’s Jatia Party has been taken for granted, for which Awami League has not had to pay any political price at all. However, BNP was not forgiven. An all-out attack has been on the party for making an alliance with Jamaat, commonly branded as an anti-liberation political force in Bangladesh.
Interestingly, since Awami League came to power this time, its usual anti-Jamaat stance has had an added dimension. Government ministers and Awami intellectuals have now been increasingly distrustful of all Islamic elements including people regular in mosques. This becomes more obvious when we see the Awami purists become wary and suspicious of the Islamic people in the rank and file of the party. They tend to launch purging operations to get rid of elements that refuse to comply with its new vision and strategy.
This new vision and strategy of Awami League is highly influenced by two overarching considerations: loyalty to India and cultural syncreticism which espouses inclusion of Hindu cultural values in the name of sub-continental indigenous traditions. Eventually, among the Awami affiliates, people who find it inconceivable to bow down to Indian political, economic and cultural hegemony and to embrace Hindu cultural values will feel misfit within the party. Until that happens, I anticipate tensions within the Awami League, as the historical experiences of the Muslims of this region will forbid many members and sympathizers of Awami League to comply with its pro-India and pro-Hindu leanings. Beyond the rim of the internal politics of Awami League, Bangladesh is at a crossroads, as despite all protestations of politicians it now struggles to remain an independent country in the true sense of the term.
http://humanrightsinbangladesh.com/11.php
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