In one scene in the popular 90’s animation movie Toy Story, Buzz tries to calm down a scared Woody during a crisis situation by saying “Sheriff, this is no time to panic.”
Woody frantically replies, “This is a perfect time to panic!”
The question that we have in front of us-is this a ‘perfect time’ for Bangladeshis to panic?
The question might arise from different quarters-why? Bangladesh is on a steady path to progress. Unlike many other countries in the world, it hasn’t been affected by a long prevailing global recession. The quality of life-to some extent-has obviously been improved as people’s purchasing capacity has increased.
On the political ground, people have recovered from the wave of violence which happened because of a longstanding disagreement between the government and the opposition surrounding the conduct of national elections held in January 2014.
Even though the presence of a strong opposition in the country’s politics has vanished with the ‘political decapitation’ of BNP, a significantly larger portion of the population has actually started believing in the mantra of ‘development over democracy’.
And developments have actually taken place-largely to the courtesy of the private sector-but the incumbent government can take credit for that as the government’s main role is to facilitate things which it did.
Forget the deceased. Just think about the members of the family of the person who is still “missing” and there is no confirmation of status.
So, why is this the perfect time to panic?
It is because of the widespread occurrences of enforced disappearances and people’s increased nonchalance towards this phenomenon.
The age of ignorance throws a pretty mean party when we start to believe that enforced disappearances are okay as long as the disappeared person is not family. The rationality and humanity inside us gets buried under the cloud of dust when we begin to accept that enforced disappearance of suspected ‘terrorists’ and ‘sons of war criminals’ are all right.
No. These are not all right.
It is not alright to remain silent about the state’s month long illegal and secret detention (later they are shown as arrested after more than a month) of Hasnat Karim and Tahmid Hasib Khan, two survivors and later two alleged suspects of the Gulshan terrorist attack.
It is not alright to accept that Hummam Quader Chowdhury, Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem and Abdullahil Amaan Azmi –sons of three war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Mir Quasem Ali and Ghulam Azam can be abducted because of their father’s crimes.
It is not alright to overlook the statistics of ‘Ain o Salish’ Kendra which mentions that only in between January-July this year, 60 people were victims of enforced disappearance out of which, the bodies of seven were later recovered.
Forget the deceased. Just think about the members of the family of the person who is still “missing” and there is no confirmation of status. Arrested without warning and imprisoned in an unknown location by the very authorities to whom the members of the abducted person have to go to inquire about the person’s whereabouts. Ponder about the agony, the asphyxiating wait for just an assurance of life.
The state has the right to arrest anyone if s/he breaks the law and there are legal mechanisms for this arrest. Enforced disappearances like these nullify the very sanctity of the judicial mechanism on which the modern civilization stands on.
Ironically, in Bangladesh, no criminal laws have yet recognised enforced disappearance as offense and yet now it is a reality. The problem lies there because right to life is one of the key fundamental rights guaranteed under Bangladesh constitution and that is violated by continuous perpetration of this crime.
The International Convention for the ‘Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance’, adopted by the United Nation in 2006 ensures that the perpetrators of enforced disappearance-no matter whether it is a state authority or not- can be tried.
Later on December 21, 2010, via Resolution 65/209, the UN General Assembly expressed its deep concern, in particular, by the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world.
By the same resolution the Assembly welcomed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and decided to declare August 30 as the ‘International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances’, to be observed beginning in 2011.
Today the world is going to observe this day for the sixth time.
On this day, it is our moral obligation to raise our voice and stand united against this heinous activity. On this day, it is our responsibility to comprehend the fact that allowance of this atrocious ‘state-sponsored crime’ could and would ultimately harm our own existence.
