If you had to put your finger on the one thing that was most noxious about the ancien regime it would have to be their utter disregard for the human rights and basic dignity of the Bangladeshi people.
From secret prisons to disappearances to crossfire killings to punishment beatings to torture and abuse in custody, no tool was left unused, and as a result the Bangladeshi people lived their lives in perpetual fear and intimidation, always looking over their shoulder, never knowing when the knock might come on the door in the dead of night.
For those in the political opposition or student movements who had the courage to openly stand up against the powers that be, the terror -- and therefore their bravery -- was unimaginable. We owe a great deal to these bold and indomitable men and women who bore the brunt of the state’s atrocities this past decade and a half.
The events from July 15 were only the apotheosis of the governing philosophy of the then ruling party. Setting their party cadres on peaceful protesters, using the full might of law enforcement on them, mass arbitrary arrest and detention, custodial abuse, shutting down communications, point blank shootings and shoot on sight orders, these were all used because the government’s operating principle was that maintaining their hold on power was worth any cost and that the human rights of Bangladeshis were of no consequence to them.
As we move forward, with every day presenting a new challenge, there is so much to focus on: The reimposition of simple law and order such that people can live their lives in safety and security, snuffing out the last embers of the violence and crime that raised its ugly head in the anarchic days after the fall of the Hasina government, depoliticizing and making functional again the governmental institutions that form the bulwark of the state and whose effectiveness is so necessary to getting the country back on track again.
And of course there is the question of justice and accountability, not only for the high crimes and misdemeanours of July and August, but for the serial human rights violations of the past 15 years as well.
In fairness, it is not as though human rights violations began in Bangladesh on January 6, 2009. Both the caretaker government and the BNP government previously, and if we are being honest and hard-eyed, every government Bangladesh has ever had since independence, have been guilty of human rights violations and have blood on their hands.
They want a country where if you break no law you need have no fear, and if you do break the law you can expect that due process will be followed
As we look forward to building a new Bangladesh, we need to put the simple rights and dignity of each Bangladeshi at the heart of our vision. This, more than anything else, is what every Bangladeshi wants and deserves.
They want to be able to live their life free of fear and intimidation. They want a Bangladesh in which no one can be picked up in the middle of the night by secret police and no one can be tortured in custody and sentenced to prison in farcical courts. They want a country where if you break no law you need have no fear, and if you do break the law you can expect that due process will be followed and a certain level of human decency will be maintained.
We were not always like this as a people, and, though I am no historian, perhaps this cycle kicked off during the Liberation War. Such was the level of brutality that was used by the occupying army and their local collaborators that when the tables turned it was only natural for the victors to wish to extract revenge, and thus started the entire cycle of violence and vengeance that continues to this day.
But if we are to be a new Bangladesh then we need to break this cycle of violence and vengeance, starting now.
I understand the passions that have been raised these past 15 years and especially over the course of the last one month. I understand the anger that blazes in the heart of those who have stood on the front lines and been brutalized and seen their comrades killed. I understand the burning desire -- in fact, more than that, the imperative -- to see that the guilty are brought to justice and that justice is done.
But let justice be done. Let it start here. Dr Yunus has stated that human rights will be the cornerstone of his administration -- once again showing the clarity of vision that makes him the right man for the job at this critical time in history -- and it must be so. This is where the interim administration must draw a line in the sand and differentiate itself from all the governments that have come before, especially the most recent.
The task facing the interim government is monumental, there can be no question about it. It is made exponentially more difficult by the fact that there remain ancien regime loyalists who will do everything in their power to sow the seeds of division and dissension and to bring the government down. And a big part of the expectation for and responsibility of this government will be to bring to justice the worst offenders and malefactors from the outgoing government.
As fragile and febrile as the current situation is, as tenuous and tense, as balanced on a knife edge, the government and administration cannot succumb to the temptation to dispense with human rights and due process when seeking justice for the crimes of the past 15 years to say nothing of the crimes against the people of the past month.
We need to show that we are better than that. We need to draw that distinction between the past and the present. We need to ensure that everyone -- including Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq -- get their day in court and are afforded the full protections of the law.
People may point out, and not without merit, that men such as these did not afford the same protections to their enemies when they were in power and that their crimes are so great that they deserve neither consideration nor sympathy.
Be that as it may, they, as do all of us, deserve due process of law and to have their human rights and dignity protected.
If we are to build a truly new Bangladesh, we need to start here and now.
