Bangladesh: RMG Issues

Wal-Mart under fire for 'unethical business practices'

Labour and garment industry leaders criticise US retail giant for distancing itself from Tazreen fire

Star Business Report

Labour and garment sector leaders yesterday came down hard on US retail giant Wal-Mart over its conduct following the Tazreen fire, saying its business practices were unethical.

“After a fire, Wal-Mart cannot simply say that it would not take products from the factory,” Roy Ramesh Chandra, chairman of Bangladesh National Council (BNC), said at a discussion on the Bangladeshi garment sector.

Chandra, also a member of International Labour Organisation's governing board, added: “The company will have to take responsibility for their part and give compensation to the workers for the loss of future earnings.”

"Otherwise, we will not allow Wal-Mart to do undisturbed business anywhere in the world," he threatened.

Tazreen Fashions was manufacturing garment products for Wal-Mart at the time of the fire that claimed at least 112 lives.

In the aftermath of the fire, Wal-Mart cancelled all ties with Success Apparel, a New York-based sourcing company that used to buy merchandise from Tazreen in a complex sub-contract.

Mohammad Hatem, first vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), too, criticised Wal-Mart for distancing itself following the Tazreen fire -- and refusing to take any responsibility.

“Their approach was not right. They should come forward and help improve the fire safety conditions in the apparel industry," Hatem said.

The BKMEA leader also criticised the buyers for their unwillingness to pay more to the manufacturers.

“They bargain hard for one or two cents, and take their orders to another supplier if they see that it will save them five cents."

Meanwhile, Chandra said as the factory owners do not have the capacity to give salaries to their workers which enables them a decent life, the brands and buyers will have to pay the difference, which will, ultimately, ensure a sound industry.

"Brands and buyers reap the maximum benefits of the garment business around the world," he said.

In his keynote speech, Aamanur Rahman, a deputy director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said the buyers in the value chain cannot finish their responsibility just by placing orders with the suppliers.

"Similarly, they also will not be able to avoid their responsibility by passing on responsibilities onto others when any tragic incident takes place," he said.

Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah, former director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the Tazreen fire should be a turning point for the garment industry.

“It is necessary to bring comprehensive changes to the sector," he said, while identifying the lax fire safety system as the Achilles' heel of the sector which employs over 30 lakh workers and -- accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports.

Hatem urged all to use the momentum to take the sector forward -- and not just stop at restoring the garment sector's image.

Shahidullah suggested factory owners to set up their own fire-fighting systems so that any incidence of fire can easily be brought under control.

His successor Ali Ahammed Khan, the newly-appointed DG of the fire service, said fire safety is everyone's business.

Nazma Akhter, executive director of Awaj Foundation, said the country does not have a culture of following labour laws, while adding that the factory owners are hardly informed of the laws.

Akhter said the owners are mostly busy with making the buyers happy, which leaves them with little to no time to take of the rights of the workers. "There is a huge gap between the owners and the workers," she said.

Shirin Akhtar, a rights activist, said workers should be placed at the heart of all the efforts the country makes in repairing its image. "It is a labour-intensive sector, so the owners and the buyers will have to look at the workers if Bangladesh wants to restore its image."

"Labour is never cheap and the workers are not a matter of mercy. The owners will have to take this into consideration,” she said.

An official of a global retain company said a group of major western brands have written to Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, seeking her involvement in talks on fire safety standards at the country's garment factories.

The official said a group of chief executives from European brands, which included Marks & Spencer, New Look Retailers and Primark, under the umbrella of the UK-based Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), signed the letter on January 17. The letter has been sent to the prime minister's office on Tuesday, he said.

Prof Golam Rahman, president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, and Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, a governing body member of ActionAid Bangladesh, also spoke.

ActionAid Bangladesh, Population Services and Training Centre, Awaj Foundation and Responsible and Accountable Garments Sector Challenge Fund jointly organised the programme at the CIRCDAP's auditorium in Dhaka. 

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 24 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266370

 

International Crimes Tribunal

Strategically Speaking- Justice is truth in action 

By Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan ndc, psc (Retd)

The heading of this piece is a quote, chosen because the acute relevance of it has never been more illustrated than in the first verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal 2, delivered on Monday. Truth has prevailed. The accused Abul Kalam Azad alias Bacchu was charged with crimes against humanity and has been sentenced to death. The message has been loud and clear -- crime will not pay. The only regret for us all, perhaps with a few exceptions, is that the trial had to be conducted in absentia, the accused having made his escape just before he was about to be nabbed.

And this is what we must dwell on first before we go further. It seems that he had many well wishers within the administration. Otherwise, how is it that a person who was under intense investigation could give a slip to everybody and disappear into thin air just before he was about to be nabbed? And now there is speculation that he is in Pakistan, trying to escape to one of the Middle-Eastern countries.

It takes quite a doing to cross over one international border illegally; and he managed to cross over two in that manner, both of those heavily fenced, and one of which is the most dangerous border on the planet, and be happily ensconced in a third country…. how very convenient. There is good reason to believe that the accused had truck with the Jihadis and the political extremists, since it is they who venture across the Indo-Pak border regularly risking their life and limbs. And it is perhaps they that helped him to cross over to Pakistan. In spite of what the law minister says, it seems unlikely that the verdict might be carried out any time soon.

The sentence was bound to cause a flurry of comments. Given that the trial has taken place after more than forty years of the crimes being committed, and also the huge amount of money spent to garner international support against the trial, the furore is only to be expected. It must be mentioned that at one point in time, and particularly after the first tribunal was established, it was made to look as if not only putting the 1971 criminals on trial was a grave act of impropriety, calling for their trial was very wrong too.

What is surprising too is the way some western media have venerated the culprit, as a popular cleric. No man who has been found guilty of the kind of charges leveled against him deserves the appellation that preceded his name, because no one that genuinely carries that reverential title could ever have indulged in the acts that the accused has been found guilty of.

It was not surprising to see certain quarters laying red herrings to mislead the public. It was said of the Court that there was nothing "international" about it. Of course there was not, and it was not meant to be so. It was an indigenous tribunal formed under the International Crimes Tribunal Act-1973. And one is not certain as to what is the datum reference of "international standards" and who defines it? As long the international covenants we have acceded to have been upheld in the process, the fairness should not be questioned.

It is said too that the charges leveled against the accused could have been tried under the existing CrPC. I shall leave it to the legal minds to answer this, but those who pose the question perhaps forget the historical context in which the crimes were committed. The crimes were committed to thwart the Liberation War, and that is what lends a different dimension to the crimes.

What, however, is for the tribunal to have ensured and satisfied all the parties concerned is that the accused was given all the chances to defend himself (something that he and his cohorts in the nine-months of mayhem they perpetrated in Bangladesh in 1971, did not give their helpless victims).

However, we could have done without the so-called SKYPE controversy that came to be associated with the trial because of the very injudicious act of the ex-chairman of the tribunal. Discussing trial matters with somebody who was not directly associated with the trial or a member of the tribunal, outside the court, was flagrant violation of his oath. And this is what has given the scope to some commentators to dub the tribunal as "controversial."

If justice has come, albeit late, it comes as solace to the millions who bear the pains of 1971. But hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of the regime of impunity, because more than anything else this has been the biggest impediment in establishing truth, and without truth justice cannot prevail.

We would hope that the BNP would come out clearly on the issue, and articulate their position on the trial and the verdict clearly. Pettifogging will not do, nor will its facilitating Jamaat to oppose the trials by according it the platform to do so. We would also hope that this will not be used to make political hay by the ruling coalition.

The writer is Editor, Op-ed and Strategic Issues, The Daily Star.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 24 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266370

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal

Editorial:Justice at last 

We take pride that process has commenced

The long awaited process of justice has yielded its verdict against Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar. The court awarded him capital punishment under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973.

This is commendable because of the extraordinary nature of the crimes he committed. On the one hand, he stood against Liberation War and helped the enemy. And on the other, he has been found guilty of perpetrating crimes against humanity.

We also commend the government for its single-minded determination to start the process, persist with it, and bring about this first verdict.

By awarding capital punishment to the guilty, the International Tribunal-2 has done justice on two levels. First it has begun meting it out to those who eluded punishment all these years since 1971. It has also repaid debt to those who fell victim to his criminal designs.

As a member of a party that actively opposed and worked against the national war of liberation, he attacked and killed the sympathisers of the liberation war. In addition, he committed crimes against humanity by participating in the genocide of innocent people, particularly members of Hindu community.

The due process of law has been observed. The charges brought against him were established by evidences provided by the living witnesses including relations of the victims. The accused was provided with a defence lawyer to enable him to defend himself against the charges levelled against him by the prosecution. But his prosecutor could not come up with necessary defence as the accused has been absconding. His family members also did not extend any cooperation.

The question of any vengeance or political vendetta does not arise, nor can any political motive be imputed to the trial process.

By conducting the trial against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in 1971, the nation has demonstrated to the world that in Bangladesh law works and even passage of long time does not make one immune from the application of law and justice. With this historic verdict, Bangladesh has come out of the culture of silence and vindicated itself through carrying forward a much needed trial process.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 23 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266342

 

 

Bangladesh's War Crimes Trial

Commentary: Why should we celebrate this verdict? 

Because it helps us to understand what Bangladesh is supposed to be

Mahfuz Anam

There are millions of reasons why we should celebrate last Monday's verdict, the first against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in 1971. There are as many reasons to rejoice today as there are martyrs of the period, and as there were instances of rape, torture, burning of villages, looting, arson, arrests, etc. For every freedom fighter killed, maimed, tortured, and women raped there were several members of their families who suffered silently in anger and grief over the last 42 years. For all of them, and for the whole nation that waited for law to catch up with the perpetrators of genocide in 1971, there is an indescribable joy in our heart today and an inexpressible reason to celebrate, the thanks for which must go to the prime minister personally, and to the Awami League government. We have said it before, and have no hesitation in repeating, that no other government would have done it. We commend both Sheikh Hasina and all those who have worked hard to make it happen.

Each of the crimes that Abul Kalam Azad (Bachchu) is accused, and has been found guilty of, are considered most serious crimes even under ordinary laws, applied in peacetime. All of them are punishable with the harshest of sentences. Murder, rape, torture and abduction are of the highest categories of criminal acts and punishment ranging from death sentences to long prison terms are handed out regularly in such cases.

A death sentence is only but natural for the crimes committed. As long as due process of law was followed, and the evidence as presented to the tribunal, which was widely reported in the free and independent media, constituted sufficient evidence the sentence is but a natural culmination. There is of course the appeal process but it can be only availed if the convict surrenders before the law and seeks redress. But such relief is not available to an absconder.

As freedom fighters, and there are hundreds and thousands of us, there is a very special reason to celebrate. There is an irrepressible sense of getting even, for many of our comrades in arms were mercilessly slaughtered by them -- personally. Many of us are witnesses to seeing innumerable bodies floating down a river, not all the handy work of Pakistani soldiers but of people like Bachchu. There are endless stories of their murder, torture and betrayal. The cruellest ones were those where they pretended to help the women and then led them to the Pakistani soldiers quarters to be physically assaulted at will and for as long as they wished, which in many cases turned out to be till the end of the war.

What can be a greater example of their brutality than the killings of intellectuals, many from Dhaka University, just two days before their defeat? They knew that their game was up, yet they killed. This was the work of only collaborators and razakars symbolised by Bachchu, and their like.

Then there were the instigations to kill. I can recall hearing the voices of razakars and prominent collaborators, broadcasting over radio Pakistan, that all freedom fighters were Indian agents and as such traitors, deserving nothing better than death. We were supposed to have strayed away from the path of Islam, and “Hinduised”, and like a bad “infection” should be eliminated before we “spoilt” the rest. They were the early “ethnic cleansers” the fore-runners of those in Serbia and Herzegovina.

Everything about Bengali culture was supposed to be of Hindu origin and as such needed to be “purified” to bring us back to the right path. Exhortations resounded from their continuous haranguing over the radio to eliminate us the moment we could be seen. They even quoted from religious texts as to what an act of “true Muslim” it would be if they either handed us to the Pakistani butchers or killed us themselves. Bachchu did just that.

We celebrate the verdict because it starts a process of accountability that will eventually lead to a greater understanding what our Liberation War stood for and the various types of forces we had to defeat to win our independence.

We celebrate the verdict because it helps to restore our ownership of history. (Though many of us have serious problems with Awami League's present version of it, which is over personalised, pays lip service to the role of ordinary freedom fighters, eliminates the contribution of local leaders, and all but ignores contribution of those who played seminal roles like Tajuddin Ahmed and other leaders of our government in exile. But still it is a far closer version to truth than that propagated by BNP).

We recall with shame, and it is our collective shame (that we allowed it to happen and also tolerated it for many years), that after the murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a well planned state level effort was set afoot to distort our history. Just so that the contribution of the political leadership of the day, and that of Sheikh Mujib could be gradually eliminated from people's mind, the true significance and extent of our free struggle was systematically played down. We had the absurd period when we couldn't name the country and the army that perpetrated the genocide and had to refer to them as “Hanadar Bahini” (the marauding force).

The whole struggle from 1947 to 1971 was reduced to a few paragraphs of deprivation, never mentioning by whom, with the sudden crescendo of everybody joining the war after hearing Maj Zia's call to fight for independence. The cultural aspect of our struggle never occupied any thinking of the post-Bangabandhu regimes.

This all too brief narrative is relevant because BNP's distortion of our history provided the opening for the re-entry of opponents of our freedom struggle into our political space, with the “salt” in our wound being provided by Khaleda Zia's last government awarding ministerial posts to those well known for their genocidal role during 1971. The BNP chief just didn't seem to care that there is a tremendous pent up resentment among the public against those who were well known for their role against our independence. It was truly “rubbing the nose on the ground” of those who took pride in their being freedom fighters.

We know politics makes strange bedfellows. However, to be so oblivious to the history of independence and to be so accommodative about those who opposed it required an arrogant dismissal of what our struggle stood for or meant to the rest of us. Khaleda Zia never seems to have truly internalised the sufferings, the sacrifice, the pain, the joy and most importantly the pride that the events of 1971 symbolised to the nation, though her husband was an integral part of it. The truth, however ironic, is that her husband himself started the process.

We celebrate the verdict because we love our freedom. We celebrate the verdict because we are proud to have an independent country. We celebrate the verdict because it correctly, irrevocably, legally and historically sets out the role of those who opposed our war, committed genocide against our people and crimes against humanity that not only we, the Bangladeshis, but the freedom loving and justice seeking world needs to recognise and applaud us for. 

The writer is Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 23 January 2013; link:  http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266329
 The Daily Star

 

Bangladesh Human Rights Situation in 2012

Editorial- Govt's Human Rights record- It needs marked improvement

Though Bangladesh was being rated positively by international financial agencies and the media for its successes in the socio-economic sector in 2012, the human rights scenario remains its Achilles heel.

A report released by the human rights organisation Ain O Shalish Kendra, ASK, shows that overall the human rights situation was rather dismal in the year that was.

Particular mention has been made of the sudden eruptions of communal tension in September that saw the destruction of Buddhist temples, monasteries and houses in Ramu, Teknaf, Ukhia in southern districts of Cox's Bazaar. In addition, there were also some attacks on another community in Sitakunda and Patiya in Chittagong as well as in the south-western districts of Bagerhat, Jenidah and the northern district of Dinajpur.

In the New Year, we do not want to see such incidents repeated in any form or scale.

On the gender front, violence against women continued with more than 1100 rapes. Incidents of gender-related violence also lay behind the murder of more than 260 women as well as one and a half dozen suicides.

Social sources of violence apart, citizens were often subjected to violence at the hands of the law-enforcement agencies.

Though there was a decline in the number of custodial deaths and extra-judicial murders, disappearances emerged as a major concern for law and order as well as citizens' security.

Contrary to expectations in a democracy, suppression of political dissent resulting in mass arrests, police violence against street demonstrations, denial of space to political opponents to a large extent eclipsed the government's image. Taking recourse to the Section 144 to stop the opposition from holding its political programmes leaves a lot to be desired about dealing appropriately with the opposition.

Leaving behind the failures of the past year, as we would like to look forward to the next with fresh hope, people expect that the government would improve its records on human rights in a marked way.

Thereby the government will be able to present a cleaner image before the electorate at this fag end of its current tenure.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 02 Januray 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=263431

Bangladesh Human Rights in 2012

Human rights situation alarming, says ASK
Staff Correspondent

Dhaka based rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra at a press briefing on Monday said that the overall human rights situation in 2012 was ‘alarming’ while the law and order situation in the country was ‘frustrating.’
‘...the overall human rights situation in the year was not satisfactory,’ the ASK executive director, Sultana Kamal, told the briefing on ‘Human Rights Situation 2012 : ASK’s Evaluation’ held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital.
The ASK expressed concerned over continued extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, torture and death in police custody, rights violations of minority communities and border violence and killing by the Indian Border Security Force.
The organisation urged the government to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission in order to improve the rights situation.
Sultana Kamal and ASK’s director (investigation) Nur Khan described the overall human rights situations based on the reports complied through their investigations and on the information they received through different national media.
The ASK praised the government for implementing different laws and rules.
But the report said that the number of extrajudicial killing increased to 91 in 2012 from 84 in 2011.
ASK report said the number of enforced disappearance rose to 34 in 2012 from 30 in 2011.
Sultana Kamal said that the victims’ families raised allegation against law enforcers. particularly the Rapid Action Battalion.
She also expressed concern over torture and killing of journalists and said that 442 journalists were victimised.
Of those incidents, five including Sagar Sarwar and Mehrun Runi were killed while 74 were harassed or tortured by the law enforcers while 87 by goons and 72 by the political activists.
In 2012, 84 people were killed and 10,525 were injured in 595 political clashes while the number of such incidents was 375 in 2011.
ASK said that 165 political demonstrations were stopped by ordering Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2012.
The ASK critisied the BSF for killing 48 people and injuring 106 people while they abducted 140 despite repeated assurance from the Indian government to stop such incidents.
The report said that 126 people were lynched by mobs.
The report also mentioned the incidents of the shooting of Limon Hossain by the RAB and continued harassment of his family members.
Violence against women topped the tally of rights violation in 2012 with 1,008 incidents of rape, 538 incidents of dowry-related violence, 68 incidents of acid violence and 428 incidents of stalking.
Violence continued in the Chittagong Hill Tracts over land dispute and other problems, the reports said.

Source: The New Age, Dhaka, 01 January 2013; link: http://newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2013-01-01&nid=35305

RMG: Clothing brands cover up safety flaws

Clothing brands cover up safety flaws
States int'l labour rights forum about accidents at garment factories

Staff Correspondent

Major global apparel companies continue to put at risk the lives of garment workers in Bangladesh by covering up problems identified in confidential audits and ignoring best fire safety practices, a Washington-based labour rights group said yesterday.

Brands and retailers have conducted factory audits but not warned government agencies or workers about imminent dangers, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) said in its 60-page report, Deadly Secrets.

"The brands and retailers collectively possess thousands of confidential factory audits that may reveal workplace hazards and even imminent threats to workers' health and safety. But it seems they have chosen to cease business with factories to safeguard their reputation and brand images rather than reveal their deadly secrets and tell workers about the risks they face. They have kept their silence."

The report from the advocacy organisation came in the wake of two recent deadly factory fires in Pakistan and Bangladesh, which together killed some 400 workers and injured hundreds others in September and November.

Auditors demand for a better working environment that requires an additional investment is often ignored when buyers negotiate contracts with manufacturers only on the basis of price and quality of products.

The report also says the US and European corporate investment in the Bangladesh's garment industry has grown steadily over the last two decades though most of its workplaces are unsafe as it offers products at the world's cheapest rate.

Bangladesh has emerged as the number-two garment exporter in the world after China. According to an industry analysis, the country is expected to triple its garment export over the next ten years and may well surpass China.

The ILRF report said Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry is founded on rock-bottom wages, labour rights restrictions and poorly enforced health and safety standards.

"Nowhere in the world are garment workers valued less than in Bangladesh," it said, adding their current minimum wage of $37 per month -- just about a dollar a day -- is $24 less than what Cambodian garment workers, the second cheapest, get a month.

Building and fire safety standards in the factories are notoriously poor, causing frequent fatal accidents, said the report.

"The deadly fires [in Bangladesh and Pakistan] are the inevitable product of an industry founded on the idea of underpaid and disposable workers."

The ILRF calls on apparel companies to put a stop to the epidemic of garment factory fires in South Asia by sharing their knowledge about workplace hazards, paying factories for necessary building repairs and respecting the voices of workers.

“The report calls for a new openness in the garment industry, where companies share what they know about dangerous workplaces and workers can speak up and organise to protect themselves,” said Bjorn Claeson, author of the report.

“We are not there yet, but the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement is a sign that change is possible. In the wake of the enormous tragedies at Tazreen Fashions and Ali Enterprises [in Pakistan], let's seize the opportunity for action. Let's make sure the workers have not died in vain.”

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 20 December 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=261824

Bangladesh: Declaration of Martial Law and act of high treason

Editorial- 

Declaration of ML and act of high treason
We heartily welcome the Judgement

We most heartily welcome the Supreme Court (SC) judgment declaring Martial Law (ML) as illegal and promulgation of ML as an act of High treason. The recently released full verdict of the Supreme Court on the historic Seventh Amendment to the Constitution has ruled that the violation of the Constitution is the gravest of all offences and shall remain illegitimate for all time to come.

We are glad that the highest court has put its seal on an issue that has been coming to the fore of public discourse from time to time. And it has been the demand of the people that political power cannot and must not ever be usurped by an extra-constitutional authority. And now, finally, the SC has invalidated appropriation of power by the military. We note with satisfaction that the present government has already amended the Constitution towards the end.

One must admit that Bangladesh has matured over the last two decades and so has its military. Since the departure of Ershad, military behaved as it should in a democracy. The military leadership too, we believe, have no inclination to power either. Unlike Pakistan, our military totally accepts the civilian leaders as their masters. If 1/11 happened in Bangladesh, putting the blame entirely in the military for that would be acknowledging half the truth. After all, there was the issue of potential subversion of election, of an inflated voter list, of an election commission tutored to run a convoluted poll, to make the result go BNP's way by hook or by crook.

On the other side, we want to stress that democracy does not mean holding an election every five years and winning an election by means fair or foul. Winning elections is only but a part of democracy with many more things, particularly ensuring good governance and implementing the rule of law rather than rule of men. Making democracy flourish entails allowing the institutions to run independently. Election victory, or a brute majority, does not give one the license to be an elected autocracy. It means taking the opposition into confidence and exercising intra-party democracy and allowing new leadership to grow, too. Only when we are able to differentiate between majority and majoritarian rule can we expect democracy to thrive fully.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 21 December 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=261900

Bangladesh: SC lambasts judges in past cases

Full Verdict on 7th Amendment
SC lambasts judges in past cases
Terms some of their observations seditious

Julfikar Ali Manik and Ashutosh Sarkar

In its judgment in the historic seventh amendment case, the Supreme Court blasted and overruled some of the apex court's earlier verdicts and observations on martial law in late 70s and 80s.

The judgment also termed "seditious" some of the observations of the judges in those past cases.

Martial law was first declared in the country on August 20, 1975. It was made effective from August 15, 1975 when the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with most of his family members, was assassinated.

A case known as "Halima Khatun vs Bangladesh" was one of the first lawsuits to reach the SC requiring interpretation of martial law and martial law regulations, after Halima filed a writ petition with the High Court.

The verdict in the case was delivered on January 4, 1978 when the country was under martial law.

The then SC judges held that martial law proclamation or a martial law regulation or a martial law order subordinated the country's constitution.

Referring to the judgment in Halima's case that said martial law proclamation, regulation and order subordinated the constitution, the SC verdict on the seventh amendment case says, "With great respect for the learned Judges of the Supreme Court of the day, it must be held that their Lordships were absolutely wrong."

The then Chief Justice Syed AB Mahmud Hossain, Justice Kemaluddin Hossain and Justice Fazle Munim gave the judgment in Halima's case.

"The Supremacy of the Constitution as declared in Article 7 [of the constitution] was no longer unqualified," said an observation of the then judges in Halima's case.

But the latest SC judgement says, "These observations are preposterous. Let it be unquestionably declared that the supremacy of the constitution was unqualified, it is unqualified and it shall remain unqualified for all time to come."

The SC judges in Halima's case made further observations that "no constitutional provision can claim to be sacrosanct and immutable" and "the present constitutional provision may, however, claim superiority to any law other than a Regulation or Order made under the Proclamation".

The latest SC verdict says that these observations were "seditious".

"Let it be unhesitatingly declared that the Constitution being the solemn expression of the will of the sovereign people of Bangladesh is sacrosanct and immutable and all organs of the Republic owe its existence to the Constitution. It is supreme in all respect. The Martial Law Proclamations, Regulations and Orders are non est before it," reads the SC judgment in the seventh amendment case.

The verdict on the seventh amendment case was delivered by the Appellate Division bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque, Justice Md Muzammel Hossain, Justice SK Sinha, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Muhammad Imman Ali.

Khairul Haque, the author judge of the verdict, was the chief justice when the verdict was delivered, and has been succeeded by Justice Md Muzammel Hossain.

The judgment that declared the seventh amendment to the constitution illegal was delivered on May 15 last year.

Several legal experts told The Daily Star yesterday that it is common in many other countries that the apex court overrules its earlier judgment if it finds the past verdict in essence wrong.

However, this is rare in the history of Bangladesh judiciary, especially when it involves constitutional matters, they said.

The seventh amendment ratified the proclamation of martial law and other regulations, orders and instructions by Lt Gen HM Ershad and his taking over the state power as the chief martial law administrator in March 1982.

On the SC's jurisdiction, the apex court judges in Halima's case said the SC had no power to call in question or declare illegal or void the proclamation or any regulation or order.

Referring to it, the judgment in seventh amendment case says, "The whole approach was reprehensibly wrong. No authority in Bangladesh can oust the jurisdiction, powers and functions of the Supreme Court granted under the Constitution.

“The law as declared by the Supreme Court in Halima Khatun case is not only alien to the Constitution, but gave legitimacy to Martial Law Proclamations etc., as such, with great respect for the learned Judges, we are constrained to overrule it and hold that the statements of law as contained in the said decision are wrong."

The SC judges elaborately discussed and criticised the observations in the past cases known as “State vs Haji Joynal Abedin and others,” “KH Ehteshamuddin Ahmed vs Bangladesh,” “Nasiruddin vs Government” and the eighth amendment case.

STATE VS HAJI JOYNAL ABEDIN AND OTHERS
In this case, Joynal Abedin and other appellants were convicted by a special martial law court and were given capital punishment. Following a writ petition, the HC cancelled the martial law court's sentence saying it was illegal and directed fresh trial by a competent court.

The government appealed with the SC against the HC verdict.

The SC delivered its judgment on December 20, 1978 when the country was under martial law. The then judges of the Appellate Division gave a split verdict.

The SC bench of the then Chief Justice Kemaluddin Hossain, Justice Fazle Munim, Justice Ruhul Islam and Justice KM Subhan delivered the verdict.

Majority of them said the constitution was reduced to a position subordinate to the martial law proclamation. So the martial law courts had the authority to try any offence and its proceedings had been made immune from being challenged before a court, including the SC.

Justice KM Subhan had given a dissenting opinion.

The SC verdict in the seventh amendment case says this observation was "not only gravely wrong but also seditious".

The judgment says it is apparent that the decision of the Appellate Division in Abedin's case was made in violation of the constitution.

"With great respect for the learned Judges we are constrained to overrule it," reads the recent judgment.

KH EHTESHAMUDDIN AHMED VS BANGLADESH
This case was also about conviction and capital punishment by a special martial law court.

The appeal against the conviction was decided in the SC in March 1980. The country was not under the martial law at that time.

But a day before withdrawing martial law, the second parliament on April 6, 1979 gave legitimacy to the country's first martial law by the fifth amendment to the constitution [it was also declared illegal by the SC in 2010].

The then chief justice Kemaluddin Hossain, Justice Fazle Munim, Justice Ruhul Islam and Justice Badrul Haider Choudhury delivered verdict in this case.

On some observations of that verdict, the recent SC judgment says, "Since the legal position of the Constitution and the Supreme Court, as postulated by the Appellate Division in the case of Ehteshamuddin was subversive of the Constitution, with great respect for the learned Judges, we are constrained to overrule it."

NASIRUDDIN VS GOVERNMENT
This case involved abandoned property and was decided by the SC on April 14, 1980.

Discussing a part of the judgment of this case, the SC judges in the verdict in the seventh amendment case said the constitution is the supreme law of the country and the apex court is empowered by the constitution to look into any illegality or irregularity of any authority.

The latest judgment says, "The views of the Appellate Division [in April 1980] in this case, upholding the vain supremacy of the Martial Law Proclamations, etc and the Martial Law Courts were erroneous and inconsistent with the Constitution, as such, with greatest respect for the learned Judges, we are constrained to overrule it."

The then chief justice Kemaluddin Hossain, Justice Ruhul Islam, Justice Badrul Haider Choudhury and Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed delivered the verdict in this case.

EIGHTH AMENDMENT CASE
Nearly a decade later in 1989, the SC upheld the absolute supremacy of the constitution and its basic structures in Anwar Hossain Chowdhury vs Bangladesh case, popularly known as the eighth amendment case.

In his observations in the judgment, Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, then judge of the SC, said, "In spite of these vital changes from 1975 by destroying some of the basic structures of the Constitution, nobody challenged them in court after revival of the Constitution; consequently, they were accepted by the people, and by their acquiescence have become part of the Constitution.”

On Justice Shahabuddin's observation, the latest SC judgment says, "The observation that 'the past amendments which were not challenged have become part of the Constitution by general acquiescence', with respect, was misconceived."

“The Constitution is the Supreme law and its any violation is void and illegal and remains so for all time to come.

"The plea of waiver or acquiescence is not available in respect of violation of any law. If it is violated, the Court is bound to say so, no matter when it is raised. There is no period of limitation, no waiver, no acquiescence…," says the latest SC judgment.

The Appellate Division bench of Justice Badrul Haider Choudhury, Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, Justice MH Rahman and Justice ATM Afzal delivered the verdict in the eighth amendment case.

Justice ATM Afzal gave a dissenting opinion.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 21 December 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=261956

Bangladesh: Martial Law stays illegal for good

Full Verdict on 7th Amendment Released

Martial Law stays illegal for good

SC terms declaration of it an act of high treason

Julfikar Ali Manik and Ashutosh Sarkar

Declaration of martial law is an act of high treason against the state, says the Supreme Court in its full verdict in the historic case on the seventh amendment to the constitution.

The SC has recently released the 125-page full text of its judgment, 19 months after pronouncing the verdict in the case on May 15 last year.

"Any person who declares Martial Law and ousts an elected government or attempts to do so, he and his associates would be liable for high treason against the Republic of Bangladesh," says the judgment.

Terming it a clear violation of the constitution, the apex court said, "No condonation is allowed for those who violate the Constitution which is the worst kind of offence that may be committed against the Republic and its people."

The SC said, "There is no such law as Martial Law or no such authority as Martial Law Authority in Bangladesh.

"Constitution cannot be violated on any excuse. Its violation, if any, is the gravest of all offences and shall remain illegitimate for all time to come."

The SC upheld a verdict given by the High Court in 2010 that had declared illegal the country's second military takeover by Lt Gen Hussain Muhammad Ershad and the seventh amendment to the constitution.

The seventh amendment ratified the proclamation of martial law and all regulations, orders and instructions by Ershad between March 24, 1982 and November 10, 1986.

The SC judgment says the proclamation of martial law, every other proclamation, Chief Martial Law Administrator's (CMLA) orders, regulations, instructions and ordinances made by Ershad and takeover of the powers of the government as the CMLA and all his subsequent acts, actions and functions till November 10, 1986 are totally unlawful.

"All were made not only in clear violation but in destruction of the Constitution, as such, are absolutely illegal and void ab initio [invalid from onset]," reads the judgment.

In the context of declaring the martial law regime illegal, the apex court has, however, made some exceptions regarding international treaties, contracts and transactions.

Apart from these exceptions, all orders, acts, actions, proceedings and trial taken place between March 24, 1982 and November 10, 1986, which are past and closed, are provisionally condoned on the age-old maxim "salus populi est suprema lex" [safety of the people is the supreme law].

The country's highest court has also issued warnings, saying: "However, even this kind of indulgence of condonation may not be available in future. There shall be no condonation in respect of Martial Law Proclamations, Proclamation Orders, Chief Martial Law Administrator's Orders, Martial Law Regulations, Martial Law Orders, Martial Law Instructions, Ordinances, etc."

The SC said the supreme law for the safety of the people is not for the usurpers and violators of the constitution.

"The Constitution covenants a democratic People's Republic of Bangladesh to be governed by the sovereign people through their elected representatives," the judgement says.

Earlier, the HC announced the judgment on the seventh amendment following a petition that was filed by Siddique Ahmed from Chittagong in January 2010 challenging the legality of the amendment.

Barrister Hassan MS Azim, counsel for the petitioner, told The Daily Star yesterday that the government has already dropped the provisions that had been included in the constitution through the seventh amendment.

Since the Supreme Court has published its full verdict, the government should go through the full judgment to see whether any void provision is still there in the constitution, and delete it if there is any. The government should then reprint the constitution, said Azim.

He said the government should also compensate those who were affected due to the proclamation of martial law.

The verdict that upheld the HC judgment was delivered by the Appellate Division bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque, Justice Md Muzammel Hossain, Justice S K Sinha, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Muhammad Imman Ali. Of them, Khairul Haque was the chief justice when the verdict was delivered and has been succeeded by Justice Md Muzammel Hossain.

The judges have also made a 14-point declaration in their verdict.

In some points, the judges said that people rule through the constitution, which has created three organs of the state -- the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The constitution also creates all functionaries and services of the state and those owe their existence to it.

"Any law, any act, any conduct, which is inconsistent with the Constitution is void," observed the apex court.

The SC judgment says paragraph 19 of the fourth schedule to the constitution was included illegally for ratification and confirmation of the proclamation of martial law of March 24, 1982.

Cancelling this paragraph, the judgment says it ceases to exist in the constitution.

The SC said under article 150 of the constitution, the transitional and temporary provisions only for the period from the date of declaration of Bangladesh's independence on March 26, 1971 to the date of commencement of the constitution on December 16, 1972 are set out in the fourth schedule to the constitution.

"No other provision made after December 16, 1972 can be included in the Fourth Schedule," said the apex court.

In the verdict, the SC discussed various decisions of the supreme courts of Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan and the USA.

Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed, self-declared president after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, proclaimed the first martial law on August 20, 1975 with retrospective effect from August 15, 1975.

The then chief justice Abu Sadat Md Sayem became the president and also the chief martial law administrator in the end of 1975. After one year, Ziaur Rahman became the CMLA and then president.

Following their path, Ershad also became the CMLA and then president in the 1980s.

In February 2010, the SC revoked the fifth amendment to the constitution that had legitimised all the governments, including that of Ziaur Rahman, which had been in power till April 9, 1979 after the coup of August 15, 1975.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 20 December 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=261819

Climate Change

Loss and damage negotiation at COP 18: Key issues are lost

Md. Shamsuddoha

Negotiations at COP 18 to agree on a mechanism to address loss and damage caused by the impacts of climate change drew immense attention of the country Parties, CSOs and policy think tanks. The continued lack of mitigation ambition and inadequate resources to implement adaptation actions are increasingly causing suffering and significant loss and damage of assets and properties all over the world, especially in the poor and vulnerable countries.

Studies confirm that loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change can no longer be avoided through mitigation or adaptation. Multiple approaches should be undertaken, with some approaches having synergies with adaptation efforts, but with others requiring taking action through new arrangements and stand-alone approaches, which could be referred to as "beyond adaptation" measures.

Following a proposal by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in 2008, loss and damage was included on the agenda of the UNFCCC negotiations. The COP 16 in Cancun decided to establish a Work Program to address issues related to loss and damage in developing countries in a more comprehensive and actionable manner, with a mandate for the Subsidiary Body of Implementation (SBI) to do this.

The draft decision adopted by COP 17 takes into account the following thematic areas to enhance understanding of and expertise on loss and damage: (1) assessing the risk of loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change and current knowledge; (2) a range of approaches to address this, including impacts related to extreme weather events and slow onset events; and (c) the role of the Convention in enhancing the implementation of approaches to address loss and damage.

Meantime, four regional workshops under the guidance of SBI have been held to develop an understanding of the issues and challenges to aid the development of the work programme. Loss and damage is a relatively new issue in the UNFCCC negotiations but it has progressed, which raised expectations of achieving some tangible outcome at COP 18. The expected deliverables of COP 18 on loss and damage are: (a) finalisation of work programme and comprehensive response to loss and damage; (b) establishment of a mechanism to assess diverse risks and approaches; (c) consider the concept of a "Multi-Window Mechanism" put forward by AOSIS as a basis for future negotiations. Multi-Window Mechanism consists of three inter-dependent components, namely insurance, rehabilitation/ compensatory payments, and risk management. These play complementary roles and comprise the necessary components of an integrated approach to risk reduction, risk transfer and risk management efforts; and (d) the establishment of a 2nd phase work programme to elaborate the functions and institutional structure of the international mechanism on loss and damage.

The negotiations at COP 18 are being sidetracked towards being limited to knowledge generation and capacity building to collect and analyse data for assessing the risks -- all to be implemented through an invitation to the Parties and relevant institutions outside of the Convention, as the US proposed. However, the key issues of addressing loss and damage, such as the establishment of a compensatory mechanism in the context of the notion of "beyond adaptation" and addressing the "residual losses" caused by both sudden onset and slow onset events, are missing.

In the context of slow progress and protracted discussion on loss and damage it is important to focus on at least three major issues. First, loss and damage resulting from slow onset events will be different from sudden onset events, and will cause more indirect losses over a longer time period. However, the current negotiation text gives little attention to slow onset events.

Second, the approaches discussed so far could be framed under three broad categories; (a) risk reduction by comprehensive disaster risk management and adaptation; (b) risk transfer by introducing insurance mechanisms, and; (c) rehabilitation/compensatory mechanisms for unavoidable loss and damages. The ongoing negotiations at COP 18 seek to identify options and designing and implementing of country-driven risk assessment strategies and approaches, including mechanisms such as insurance, while the approaches under rehabilitation/compensatory are grossly disregarded, especially by the developed country Parties.

Approaches to reduce and address disaster risks are mostly sudden onset disaster-centric, with no approaches for addressing slow onset events like ocean acidification, salinity intrusion, loss of ecosystem services or loss of economic preferences etc. On the other hand, insurance will merely create business opportunities for the insurance companies.

Third, the G77/China pushed "to establish an international mechanism which complements existing arrangements for adaptation actions by developing country Parties." However, the US, while agreeing that "all the impacts of climate change could not be addressed only by adaptation," wants to put all loss and damage-related issues under the Adaptation Committee and National Adaptation Programs. The US also urged to make strong cases of "unavoidable" and residual loss and damage of the impacts of climate change so that a stand-alone mechanism could be established.

This means that a different and stand-alone mechanism will be required, one that will be complementary to the national adaptation actions. But there is still the potential of unavoidable loss and damage, and we need to explore "adaptation plus" mechanisms, institutions and opportunities to address unavoidable loss and damage.

The writer is Chief Executive, Center for Participatory Research and Development.E-mail: m.shamsuddoha@hotmail.com

Orginally appeared in The Daily Star on 15 December 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=261187

Judicial activism as a tool for the protection of human rights

Law Event

Judicial activism as a tool for the protection of human rights

Mahdy Hassan 

The Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) organised a lecture session on “Judicial Activism: A Tool for the Protection of Human Rights” on 10th November 2012 at its conference Room at Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Dr. Ridwanul Hoque, Associate Professor of the Department of Law, University of Dhaka was the keynote speaker at that lecture session. Among others, Mr. Anisur Rahman, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Law, Eastern University and Mr. Shankor Paul, Head of Human Rights at Concern Universal, Bangladesh spoke at the session. Dr. Uttam Kumar Das, Human Rights Lawyer, moderated it. The speakers and discussants observed that there is a requirement for a pro-active role of judges and relevant legal professionals for the strategic utilization of judicial activism for ensuring the people's access to justice. 

There is a lack of understanding and scholarship in Bangladesh on the concept and application of judicial activism said Dr. Ridwanul Hoque while giving his lecture. He claimed that the Judges cannot act arbitrarily rather they should act judicially. When the judges approach the law going beyond the two persons or two parties of the case or suit effectively, then it is called 'Judicial Activism'. Judicial Activism can be the best tool for the protection of human rights but the State is the main culprit for the violation of human rights. Existing poor mechanism of the protection of Human Rights in Bangladesh and breaking down of the 'Rule of Law' are great problems for a sound judicial activism. Disappearance, cross-fire are regularly being traditionalised and girls are being victimized in the safe custody which are the gross violation of human rights. Sometimes someone is detained unlawfully and at last the court says that 'you are free now' which cannot be a good practice of judicial activism. However, Judges are in better place to be an activist of human rights. 

He went on to say that, now the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is well established in Bangladesh. It should not be confined only in the fundamental rights -- part three of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The scope of judicial activism should be practiced in each organ of human rights.

The writer is a Student of Law, University of Dhaka.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 24 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2012/11/04/advocate.htm

Myanmar to look at Rohingya rights

Myanmar to look at Rohingya rights
President Thein Sein writes to UN; OIC decries 'genocide'; Suu Kyi remark shocks many in India

Star Report

Myanmar's president has pledged to consider new rights for the stateless Rohingya minority ahead of a landmark visit by President Barack Obama, but stopped short of a full commitment that citizenship and other new freedoms would be granted.

In a letter sent to the United Nations on Friday, President Thein Sein made conciliatory remarks that condemned the "senseless violence" in western Rakhine state between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya.

Almost 200 people have died and more than 1,00,000 have been displaced since June in fighting between the two communities, reports Associated press.

The persecution of Rohingyas also affects Bangladesh. Whenever communal violence breaks out in Myanmar, the minorities intrude into Bangladesh through Teknaf bordering area.

Bangladesh accommodates around 29,000 registered Rohingya refugees, although different estimates suggest the number of the Myanmarese minorities unofficially living in and around Cox's Bazar ranges between 2.5 and 5 lakh.

Yesterday, the world's top Islamic body called for the international community to protect Muslims in Myanmar's unrest-hit Rakhine state from "genocide".

"We expect the United States to convey a strong message to the government of Burma so they protect that minority, what is going on there is genocide," said Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who is the acting chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

"We are telling things how they are, we believe that the United States and other ... countries ... should act quickly to save that minority which is submitted to an oppressive policy and a genocide," he said at the end of an OIC foreign ministers' meeting in Djibouti.

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey also urged a stop to what he called "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya, considered among the most persecuted groups in the world by the United Nations.

"We would like the international community to act immediately to stop the ethnic cleansing," he said.

The 57-member OIC decided at an August summit in Mecca to take the issue before the UN General Assembly, writes AFP.

Obama tomorrow will become the first sitting US president to visit Myanmar in a short but hugely symbolic trip that he hopes will spur greater reform in the once isolated country and highlight a rare success for his policy of engaging pariah regimes.

Ahead of the visit, Thein Sein said yesterday that the communal unrest was hampering the country's reforms and causing it "to lose face" on the world stage.

In October, he blocked the OIC from opening an office in the country, following rallies against the organisation's efforts to help Rakhine's Muslims.

In his letter to the UN, Thein Sein made no promises and offered no timeline for resolving the tensions, but it marked an overture to the international community and to Obama.

The White House has urged Myanmar to take urgent action to end the strife and has said Obama will press the matter with Thein Sein, along with demands to free political prisoners as the Southeast Asian country transitions to democracy after a half-century of military rule.

Thein Sein in his letter said his government was prepared to address contentious issues "ranging from resettlement of displaced populations to granting of citizenship," according to a statement from the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that contained excerpts from the letter.

He said he also would look at issues including work permits and permits granting freedom of movement for the Rohingya to ensure they are treated in line with "accepted international norms."

The UN statement called Thein Sein's letter a step "in the right direction."

It was not clear from his letter whether Thein Sein was changing his stance on citizenship for the Rohingya. He has previously cited strict citizenship laws stating that only Rohingya whose families settled in the country before independence from Britain in 1948 were considered citizens.

Meanwhile, Civil society activists in New Delhi have protested against what they said Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's unwillingness to acknowledge Rohingya Muslims' plight in her homeland.

The protesting groups, including the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and the Democratic Students' Union, on Friday issued a statement, in which they disapproved Suu Kyi's continuous silence and ambivalent attitude towards the violence against "a section of her compatriots known as Rohingyas."

Suu Kyi, who is now on a visit to India, told NDTV in an interview on Thursday that both sides were responsible for the ethnic violence in the Rakhine province and she did not want to take sides because she wanted to promote national reconciliation.

"The political position [on the issue] of Suu Kyi, the daughter of respected General Aung San who stood for democracy, peace and minority rights in Burma, is highly condemnable in all respects," the statement says.

"Its a complete hypocrisy that Aung San Suu Kyi doesn't stand by the victims of the ethnic cleansing in Burma [Myanmar], but wants India to stand by her cause," it adds.

The activists on Friday were agitating outside a leading women's college in the capital of India.

Suu Kyi had discredited the plight of Rohingyas by describing the situation in Myanmar as a mere issue of law and order, they said, adding her fight for democracy would remain incomplete until she spoke against the persecution of such minorities in her own country.

The protesters were detained for a brief period at Greater Kailash Police Station before being freed.

The United Nations has called the Rohingya -- who are widely reviled by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar -- among the most persecuted people on Earth.

Myanmar denies the Rohingya citizenship, even though many of their families have lived in Myanmar for generations.

The UN estimates that 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, where they face heavy-handed restrictions: They need permission to marry, have more than two children and travel outside of their villages.

Reader's Comment:
The international community had time and again insisted that Rohingas be accorded Myanmar citizenship with all their civil and political rights. But Myanmar authorities put inordinate complications in rules and procedures which made the task almost impossible. Asking them to produce documentary proof of their forefathers for a century or so is akin to asking them to leave the land. We must remember the level of their literacy, the heritage of record preservation, the climatic factors, and the social context of frequent changes of homes and hearths which inevitably leads to shedding of vital documents. It is essential to liberalize verification and identification procedures and admit the Rohinga as Myanmar citizens. US President Barack Obama who is shortly expected to pay a state visit to Myanmar should take up the humanitarian issue in earnest, and restore peace in the region.
: Iftikhar-ul-Awwal

Source: The Daily Star, 18 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257938

Concern expressed over human rights (The Daily Star Editorial)

Editorial

Concern expressed over human rights

Uphold rule of law by all means

Human Rights Forum (HRF), a national coalition of 19 rights and development organizations, has portrayed a disquieting picture of the human rights situation. The statistics over the last four years of the AL-led Mohajote government speak for themselves: a total of 156 people have disappeared and 462 got killed in what is euphemistically called crossfire between 2009 and 2012. The figures work out to 39 'forced' disappearances and slightly above 115 extra-judicial killings respectively per year.

This is unacceptable in a democratic polity which should essentially be based on transparency and accountability of its institutions. Cloak-and-dagger policy usually associated with any 'specialised' agency in authoritarian rule is completely out of character with standard norms of democracy. If the government of the day should allow any agency of law enforcement to behave arbitrarily, sooner or later it would abuse power, almost becoming a law unto itself. Much that a major party before polls pledges to curb extra-judicial killings, it reneges on the pledge as soon as it comes to power.

This government stood committed to UNHCR that it would show zero tolerance to extra-judicial killings and to any kind of political repression but 'it did not keep its promises,' regretted HRF-Bangladesh president Sultana Kamal.

In the process, rule of law is undermined; public confidence in custodians of law diminishes; and a sense of insecurity is heightened among the people.

The importance of the HRF report lies in the fact that this has gone to UNHCR to be tabled for discussion in the UN rights body's Geneva meet early next year where the government would be required to respond to the analysis and observations made in a home grown report with inputs from a plethora of rights and development organisations. The international human rights organisations have from time to time expressed their concern over human rights situation in Bangladesh. Now, a national human rights forum in addition to the NHRC has given its perspective which is no different from what has already become public knowledge in terms of human rights issues.

It is time the government addressed the concerns with all the seriousness these deserve.

[Note: The name of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is confused with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)].

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka; 18 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257865

Abductions, Killings- State not duly worried

Abductions, Killings- State not duly worried

NHRC chief tells Prothom Alo roundtable

Staff Correspondent

Despite repeated incidents of killing after abduction and other sorts of unnatural deaths due to criminal activities, the state does not seem to be as worried as it should be, said Dr. Mizanur Rahman yesterday.
Any kind of unnatural death should be a reason for the state's headache.

But seeing the number of such incidents in Bangladesh, it is not visible to us that the state has a headache or is worried,  said the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman.

The rights body chief was speaking as chief guest at a roundtable titled  Child abduction, killing-demanding ransom: Where is the end  organised by the Bangla daily Prothom Alo at its office in the capital.

Referring to the contradictory statements of Rapid Action Battalion and police over whether ransom was paid to secure the release of abducted six-year-old schoolboy Parag Mondol, he said such contradictions create anxiety among people.

The economical and political states of the country as well as a lack in the rule of law are the main reasons for the increase in criminal activities in Bangladesh. Incidents of crime also rise when state machineries are used for political interest, he said.

Addressing the discussion, Ain O Salish Kendra Chairperson Hamida Hossain alleged that negligence in duty by police after different incidents of abduction were observed in the last few years.

Salma Khan, former chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), said people were losing trust on the rule of law and law enforcement agencies day by day.

Echoing Salma, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder said if law enforcers failed to regain public trust, it would bring dangerous consequences in the future.

The culture of impunity is increasing crime in the society and the country's laws must be enforced strictly to reduce incidents of crime, he said.

Quazi Zia Uddin, assistant inspector general (crime-4) of Bangladesh Police, emphasised concerted efforts from people of all the sections of society to put an end to crime.

Prothom Alo Associate Editor Abdul Quayum suggested setting up a special cell under the home ministry to monitor different abduction related cases.

In the roundtable, family members of Sheikh Farid, a seven-year-old child who was killed after being abducted from Munshiganj last March, demand punishment to the killers.

Prothom Alo Feature Editor Shumana Sharmin moderated the roundtable where Dhaka University's Criminology and Criminal Justice Programme Director AI Mahbubuddin Ahmed also spoke.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka; 18 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257932