With no end in sight to politically motivated violence and other abuses in Bangladesh, the state authorities need to ensure their response respects the rights of all, and to avoid arbitrary use of force, arrests, and disappearances, said Human Rights Watch yesterday.
In a press statement, the New York-based rights body said about 60 people have been killed, hundreds injured, and thousands arrested across the country over the past month.
All political leaders should give clear statements that their supporters would not use unlawful violence, it said.
“All parties should cooperate to stop the cycle of violent crimes and ensure those responsible for all crimes are arrested and prosecuted,” the press release quoted Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, as saying.
“The violent crimes being committed by some members of the opposition cannot justify killings, injuries, and wrongful arrests by the government,” the press release said quoting Brad Adams as saying.
The press statement said the violence and clampdown by the government security forces began in early January 2015, with protests to mark one year since the January 5 general elections in, which saw the ruling Awami League win a landslide victory.
“The government’s tactics to contain the violence echo previous violations including arbitrary arrests and killings, and enforced disappearances. The current cycle of opposition violence, including deadly arson attacks, follows the same pattern as documented by Human Rights Watch a year ago, when more than 500 people were killed in the 2014 election-related violence,” according to the HRW press statement.
The HRW noted that one of the most horrific aspects of the violence in Bangladesh are petrol bomb attacks, often hurled indiscriminately at private vehicles attempting to pass through strikes and transport blockades called by the opposition.
“The government has the responsibility to enforce law and order and protect citizens but security forces should know that they will be held accountable for violating human rights,” the HRW press statement quoted Adams as saying.
“Bangladesh has a long history of permitting security forces to commit excesses in order to control crime, and it is leading to the collapse of rule of law and blood on the streets,” it said Adams as saying.
“The political leadership needs to hear strongly that unless this blood-letting stops, it will impact their standing with other countries,” it added.