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BHRC Human Rights Report August 2015
Total 175 persons killed in September, 2015

Human Rights Report:

The documentation section of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (BHRC) furnished this human rights survey report on the basis of daily newspapers and information received from its district, sub-district and municipal branches. As per survey it appears that 175 peoples were killed in September, 2015 in all over the country. It proves that the law and order situation is not satisfactory. Bangladesh Human Rights Commissions extremely anxious about this situation. In the month of September, 2015 average 6 people were killed in each day.
The Law enforcing agencies and related Govt. departments should be more responsible so that percentage of killing may be brought down to zero level. To institutionalize the democracy and to build human rights based society the rule of law and order must be established everywhere. Through enforcing rule of law only such violation against human rights can be minimized.
It appears from documentation division of BHRC:
Total 175 person killed in September, 2015
Political killing 4, Killing for dowry 8, killing by family violence 25, Killed due to social discrepancy 45, Killed by Law enforcing authority 12, Killed due to doctor negligence 4, Assassination 7, Killed due to abduction 6, Mysterious death 56, Killed due to BSF 4, Women & chilled killed due to rape 6.
Killed by several accidents: Killed by road accident 195, Suicide 21.
Besides victims of torture: Rape 54, Sexual Harassment 8, Acid throwing 2, Torture for Dowry 5, Journalist torture 2.

 

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Bangladesh and the quest for global peace
Dr. Rashid Askari

Peace is the antithesis of war and violence. Where there is war, there is no peace and vice versa. Although the quest for peace has always been the avowed goal of an individual or a group in human society, it is often impeded by acts of violence and crimes. However, the quest for peace never ceases to exist.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was over-optimistic about the possibility of peace. So was Mother Teresa, who thought the process of peace to be so easy that it can simply begin with a smile. However, when the bloodthirsty Zionist hyenas are still spilling innocent blood in Gaza or the bloodthirsty forces of ISIS are parading through the vast tracts of Iraqi and Syrian Desert posing threat to the entire Arabian Peninsula, how far it can be hoped that there is light of peace at the end of the long tunnel of violence? The global conscience however is trying to remove the dark vision and show the light. But to little or no avail! However reassuring the buzzwords- 'freedom' 'democracy', 'socialism', 'human rights' may sound, the perennial conflict among the super powers and the cold war for global political ascendancy and supremacy have sent peace into exile giving way to constant fear and tension.
The course of history is serpentine. The chain of historical events is non-linear! Who could imagine that after having crossed the darkest days of the Middle Ages and been influenced by the ideals of the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment, the events of history would take a U-turn and lead to two world wars within a time lapse of a couple of decades inflicting heavy casualties on innocent population? People were scared out of their wits to see the deaths of more than 37 million people in the First World War, and 60 million in the Second. It shook the foundations of all human beliefs and ideologies. But then again, people did not give in at the end of the day. In fact, there is no holding human progress. The more human hopes are shattered, the more they hope against hope, and this is how, the long journey of the pursuit of peace and happiness is in progress in the face of overwhelming odds.
Though Bangladesh has emerged as a comparatively new state in the globe, there is little scope for underrating its role in regional and global peacekeeping activities. Given its geographical location, it has an added importance in the contemporary geopolitical context. It has immense potential for contributing to Southeast Asian peace process and thereby to the global one. Besides, Bangladesh has a rich political heritage of participating in all world peace activities conducted by the United Nations. The founding father of the country, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman himself was a champion of peace, and moved heaven and earth for the cause of global peace. His speeches at different international forums, i.e. the UN General Assembly, the Non-Aligned Movement, OIC etc. bear the stamp of his strong pacifist beliefs and commitment to international peace.
In the 1973 Arab-Israel War, he took a bold stance against Israeli oppression, and extended unconditional support to the Palestinians. He was always against unprovoked military aggression, and advocated the use of nonviolence in the society for sustainable peace. For his peace- loving activities, he was awarded the prestigious peace accolade, the Joliot Curie Prize in 1973 by the World Peace Council. In the light of Mujib's nonviolent political strategy, the newly independent Bangladesh adopted the principle of 'friendship with all and malice towards none' as the base of its foreign policy.
Sheikh Hasina, too, during her first premiership in 1997 drew up the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord between her government and the Parbatya Chattagram Sanghati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), the outlawed political organization called the 'Shanti Bahini' and put an end to the decades-long insurgency between the Shanti Bahini and government forces. Not only did this historic peace accord help restore national security, it paved the way for regional peace and harmony. If this long-drawn insurgency had not been resolved at that time, it would have, by now, grown as the biggest threat to Bangladesh's internal security and Southeast Asian security as well. It could also have provoked, in numerous ways, cross-border insurgencies into acts of repeated violence, and prepared real grounds for mudslinging between the countries with regard to aiding and abetting insurgencies, which could have destroyed the peacekeeping processes of the entire region.
 

Sharma apprises Sheikh Hasina of CHOGM preparations
 

Human Rights Report:
Visiting Secretary General of the Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma 12 September made a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Gonobhaban residence and apprised her of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta at the end of November.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, PM's press secretary Ehsanul Karim said the Commonwealth Secretary General informed the prime minister that the CHOGM will have a special session on climate change, national disaster programme and first ever Women's Forum, BSS reports.
He sought PM's leadership and input to make the events fruitful. In this regard, he appreciated the role of the prime minister on climate issue.
Sharma said the Commonwealth meeting would discuss the issues of radicalization of the youths and migration issues and Queen Elizabeth II and Prince of Wales would attend the summit.
The Press Secretary said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina shared with the Commonwealth Secretary General Bangladesh's efforts to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions. She outlined some of the challenges resulted from politically motivated violence.
In this context, she pointed out the anarchy and vandalism perpetrated by a section of political parties in the country in 2013 and at the beginning of 2015.
The prime minister said the flourishing media in Bangladesh is enjoying full freedom. She explained how the multiple private television channels are functioning and newspapers are exercising freedom.
The prime minister stressed the need for creating a global fund to address the challenges of climate change.
Sheikh Hasina pointed out her government efforts in combating terrorism and said the government is trying its best to contain terrorism.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, PM's advisor on international affairs Dr Gowher Rizvi and Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad were present among others.

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East West students begin anti-VAT strike


 

Human Rights Report:

East West University students began today's strike against 7.5 percent VAT on private universities' tuition fees with a sit-in demonstration.
Around a hundred students abandoned classes and exams and began protests near their campus in Dhaka's Aftabnagar area around 10:00am.
Anti-VAT agitation spread like wildfire after police opened fire on a demonstration of East West University in Dhaka's Rampura last Wednesday. The next day, students stopped capital Dhaka on its tracks for a day.
In face of mass demonstration, the government "clarified" that the VAT was to be paid by respective universities and "it would not be taxed from the students".
The students however have rejected the "explanation" and threatened to wage strike for three-days, starting from Sunday, if the government does not remove the 7.5 percent VAT.
 

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HC rejects plea seeking cancellation of MBBS, BDS admission tests
 

Human Rights Report:
The High Court here on 14 September turned down a writ petition seeking its directive on the government to cancel the admission tests of MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) for the 2015-16 session over allegations of question paper leak, reports UNB.
An HC bench comprising Justice Najma Haider and Justice JM Dev Chowdhury passed the order after a hearing on the petition, filed by Eunus Ali Akond, a Supreme Court lawyer, earlier on Sunday.

The petitioner sought an HC rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why not the medical admission tests will be cancelled. He also sought the suspension of the admission procedure until the settlement of the writ.
In the writ petition, he also prayed to the court to ask the government to form a judicial inquiry committee to conduct an investigation into the allegation of question paper leak.
Earlier, the combined admission tests for the country's medical and dental colleges for the 2015-16 academic session were held across the country on September 18.
The results of MBBS and BDS admission tests were published on 19 September.

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Being human 

Human Rights Report:

The migrant crisis engulfing Europe is merely a flashpoint in the much larger crisis of humanity that has embroiled the whole world, either directly or indirectly, for years now, with no apparent end in sight. The root causes of the diabolical powerplay in Syria, of the death-cult ISIS uprising that originated in Iraq, situated its capital in Raqqa in northern Syria and is now taking advantage of chaos in Libya, and the civil war in Eritrea, that are acting as the main drivers behind the sea of humanity forced to seek refuge in Europe across the waters, cannot be addressed by European officials skilled in administration.
Following the brave and redeeming stance taken by Germany in the last 10 days, the expectation would be that the EU will get its act together and work out something resembling a refugee distribution plan, although striving too hard for a fair distribution risks wallowing in uncertainty. Countries like Germany, Sweden, and the two most common landing stations for those who make it - Italy and Greece - will most likely be forced to bear the brunt of it. As Dhaka Courier went to press this week, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, had just placed a proposal whereby some 160,000 of the refugees - an amount equal to just 0.11 percent of the EU's population - would be distributed across more than 20 countries with binding quotas. Germany meanwhile has declared itself open to Syrian migrants, waiving EU rules and saying it expects to deal with 800,000 asylum seekers (almost half from the Balkan states) this year alone.
Bangladeshis besieged
Although the overwhelming focus tends to be on the displaced citizens of the countries ravaged by war, it is important to remember that the sheer scale of the chaos in places like Syria and Libya is forcing all sorts of people to flee, including foreign residents. Bangladeshis have long maintained a presence across the troubled region, particularly in Libya. As that country has steadily descended into the abyss of its own civil war prompted by the ugly downfall of its former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the situation facing the Bangladeshi migrant population there has grown increasingly adverse, dragging the country into the crisis, although one wouldn't necessarily know it from the government's remarkably aloof attitude. Reports of Bangladeshis fleeing, or looking to flee, have surfaced intermittently over the past two years. Fearing for their life, many are returning home while some are embarking on the risky boat journeys to Europe across the Mediterranean.
Those who are still stuck there often lose all their savings to robbers or armed groups or even civilians. Even this week, some 12 Bangladeshis were shot and injured by armed robbers in Ajdabiya, 1000 kilometres from Tripoli. Their troubles have deepened after money transfer agencies shut their services in the North African country over a year ago, rendering the migrant workers unable to send money home through legal and trusted channels.
The plight of the Bangladeshi expatriate workers came to the fore when a boat carrying around 500 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea en route to Europe on August 24. At least 78 Bangladeshis were on the boat. Of them, 24 died and 54 were rescued. The rescued later told Bangladesh Embassy officials that security concerns in Libya forced them to take the risky journey. Just days later, on August 27, at least eight Bangladeshis, including two minor children, died after two boats carrying up to 500 migrants sank off the coast of Libya while trying to go to Italy, reported our sister newsagency UNB.
Since Gaddafi's fall, the oil-rich country has been torn apart by various regional and tribal armed militias fighting each other for greater control in the absence of a central government. Under these circumstances, Libya halted recruiting from Bangladesh in May this year and the Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli was relocated to Tunisia a month later. According to foreign ministry officials, though nearly 37,000 migrants were repatriated from Libya since 2011, an estimated 40,000 Bangladeshis still work there. The government, judging by its response so far, seems to prefer a light-touch approach, happy for the relocated embassy to issue bland directives like "move around in groups, and not after the sunset" and leave the vulnerable migrants to decide for themselves on their future - particularly the question of whether to stay on in Libya or look for a way back home.
At a time like this, surely the distressed migrant population could do with some informed advice on the best possible way forward for them based on a realistic assessment of the situation, especially now that scores have died. The reluctance to even consider a planned repatriation programme is particularly striking, even though according to foreign ministry officials, around 50 to 60 Bangladeshis are returning home every month, up from 30 to 40 in the last two years. Whether they like to admit it or not, each time a Bangladeshi in Libya is forced to wager his or her life on making a dash for Europe on rickety boats manned by human traffickers, it represents a failure of the Bangladesh Embassy for Libya, as well as the Foreign Ministry. Yet this is clearly happening on a far larger scale than they care to acknowledge.

 

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 Climate Change: BD among most vulnerable nations for its geography

Human Rights Report:
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier have said Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable nations in the world due to its geography, and underlined the significance of fighting climate change collectively.
"Today, by coming to Bangladesh, we underline the significance of fighting climate change collectively," says a joint article, 'A safe climate future for Bangladesh, and the world', written by the two Foreign Ministers.
Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived here together on Monday morning on a brief 14-hour visit to get the firsthand experience of climate change impact on Bangladesh and inaugurate the first-ever France-Germany (Franco-German) joint embassy in Dhaka.
They said millions of Bangladeshis are already facing pressing challenges from erratic weather conditions that severely damage infrastructure and farmland, threatening their livelihoods.
"Such challenges mean that we must take a balanced approach to tackling climate change: on the one hand, quickly and deeply reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid unmanageable consequences in the future; on the other hand, managing the unavoidable impacts of climate disruption already felt today, through adaptation policies," the article says.
They think an adequate response to the climate challenge must address both adaptation and mitigation in a balanced manner, according to countries' responsibilities, priorities, and evolving circumstances.
The Foreign Ministers said Bangladesh offers many inspiring examples of effective cooperation to manage climate risks on the ground.
"France and Germany fully support Bangladesh, a long-term partner, in its endeavors. Together with all Least Developed Countries and the entire international community, we will do our utmost to reach an ambitious outcome in Paris," the article says adding that the threat cannot be ignored; the opportunity should be seized.
They said 2015 is a crucial year for the global efforts to keep climate disruption within manageable proportions.
In December, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), world leaders will come together in Paris to agree on a new climate treaty.
It is the best chance we've had so far to make significant progress towards limiting the rise in average global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius - the objective agreed upon by the international community.
"We must reach a pragmatic, yet ambitious and comprehensive legal agreement. And we'll need the active participation of all countries to get there," they said.
Developed countries have to take the lead in sharply reducing their emissions. They have shown their determination to do so last June at the G7 summit in Germany, where the governments of the world's leading economies agreed on "a decarbonisation of the global economy over the course of this century".
Germany and France, together with all 28 EU member states are taking their responsibilities: the EU committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

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Politics … the miraculous and the predictable
 

Syed Badrul Ahsan

Come to think of it. The world, despite the increasingly shrinking frontiers it is being pushed into, remains a rather interesting place. Britain's Labour Party has just elected the old-fashioned socialist Jeremy Corbyn as its new leader. You might be deluded into believing that the old days of socialism, or propagation of socialism, are back. Not so. What has happened is a loud expression of the feeling among a majority of the Labour faithful that capitalism, even the brand which Tony Blair and Gordon Brown touted under New Labour, has done more harm than good. Power since the departure of James Callaghan from office in 1979 has gradually but decisively passed into the hands of the elite.
It is a reversal of that trend which Corbyn would now like to bring about. Whether he can do that is quite another matter. There are all the naysayers who are convinced that under its new leader, Labour will march to a defeat at the next election. But politics being a regular intermix of the miraculous and the predictable, one will just have to wait to see what Corbyn makes of his triumph within the party. There will be the lessons he will draw from Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock, neither of whom was able to take the party to 10 Downing Street because of policies considered unsustainable at the time.
Politics, despite all the aversion and the cynicism you have about it, plays a ceaseless part in your life. Observe the manner in which Sheikh Hasina's government, here in Bangladesh, chose to bow to the demands of private university students for a withdrawal of the Value Added Tax earlier imposed on their tuition fees. Despite repeated government pronouncements that the VAT was for the universities to pay out of the existing fees, the untruth was peddled that it was the pockets of the students' guardians the government was after. Now that the VAT has been withdrawn, you wonder if the move does not presage the arrival of bad days in the country. If students of private universities can commandeer public roads and subject citizens to endless suffering, if their teachers do nothing to hold them back and indeed appear to be egging them on, it is a dangerous signal we have before us. What happens if tomorrow or the day after other groups from the various professions decide to take a leaf out of these students' book and seize the roads and stay there till their demands are acceded to?
By stepping back from the VAT issue, the Awami League-led government has clearly beaten a retreat. Whether it was a tactical or pragmatic move is a matter of debate. The point now is that the students have won. And the authorities of the private universities shrewdly stayed away from telling them that they had nothing to fear from all this noise over the VAT. Well, let all that be. Politics is sometimes in a curious state of flux. Observe the suddenness with which Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been replaced as the leader of the ruling Liberal Party. Such changes have been taking place with pretty much of a regularity in Australia.
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Keeping the peace

AKM Moinuddin

The world is changing and the UN peacekeeping operations are also changing with it, as they want to remain an indispensable and effective tool in promoting international peace and security. Last week Bangladesh witnessed a very important visit of UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Department of Field Support Atul Khare. Before leaving Dhaka on Tuesday evening, he showered praises on Bangladesh peacekeepers and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for their extremely important contribution to world peace and security. Currently, (as of march 31, 2015) some 9516 Bangladeshi peacekeepers are there in the UN missions - more than any other country in the world - while Pakistan is in the second position with 8349 peacekeepers.
The main objective of his visit was to thank the government of Bangladesh for its significant contributions to the UN peacekeeping and to discuss challenges and opportunities related to peace operations including the UN Secretary General's zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse. To wrap up his visit, Atul Khare met journalists and informed that they are keen to have more Bangladeshi peacekeepers at policy and commanding level positions, and an important announcement in this regard to be made soon in Mali.
Atul Khare was about to make the announcement. But he did not go into details. He mentioned that they are very cognizant of the need for Bangladeshi people to be deployed in senior positions like policy and commanding levels. Three Bangladeshi peacekeepers are currently holding senior positions like sector commander and deputy force commander. Even then, he agreed, more can be done to get Bangladeshi people in top positions.
Bangladeshi peacekeepers are deployed in extremely challenging missions and, in fact, it is a great credit to Bangladesh Army. Atul Khare acknowledged it. They have been deployed in places which are difficult and insecure. Despite all these challenges Bangladesh troops have performed exceedingly great. "I'm very happy with their performance and that's why I came here to thank Bangladesh leadership and its people for their effective contributions to UN peacekeeping missions," Atul Khare said.
Ideas from the PM
The UN highly appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's role and said they have started working on the ideas proposed by the prime minister. She made a number of suggestions in the last peacekeeping summit. The suggestions and ideas, according to Atul Khare, are extremely useful for the future of UN peacekeeping missions. He had decided to start implementing the proposals when he took over.
Doing Business with UN
The entire annual procurement volume of the UN is about US$ 3 billion and about 90 percent of the total procumbent is for the Department of Field Support. The UN will discuss how Bangladeshi businesspeople can take part in UN procumbent process for the peacekeeping missions through tenders. A conference on doing business with the UN will be arranged to discuss all these issues on business front next year. Bangladesh can look at many areas including exporting Bangladeshi quality medicines and RMG products and other logistic supports. The UN had arranged a conference three years back on doing business with the UN. The conference in the next year will see Bangladeshi businesspeople can be registered with the UN, participate in tender. The UN wants Bangladeshi businesspeople to go for high end products and services not being restricted in certain areas.

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Racism is alive in America
 

Barrister Harun ur Rashid

On 17th June, 21-year old Dylann Roof, a white person, confessed to killing nine people at the historically black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, sources told NBC News. Police say they believe the attack was a hate crime. He appeared in the court on 19th June facing nine murder charges.
Among the dead, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Democratic state senator for South Carolina's 45th district, was the first victim. He was 41 years old.
The FBI is now on the scene with local police, and more of the Bureau's best are on the way to join them. The Attorney General has announced plans for the FBI to open a hate crime investigation. We understand that the suspect is in custody. And I'll let the best of law enforcement do its work to make sure that justice is served.
White supremacy
The leader of a white supremacist group in the US apparently influenced Dylan Roof. The leader. Earl Holt, in a statement posted online in his name, said he was not surprised to learn that. Roof had found out about "black-on-white violent crime" from his group because, he said, it was one of the few that had the courage to disclose "the seemingly endless incidents involving black-on-white murder." The group is regarded by the Southern Poverty Law Centre, a leading authority on hate crimes, as a white supremacist extremist organization that opposes "race mixing" as a religious affront and that vilifies blacks as an inferior race.
In newly discovered photographs of Dylann Roof, the young white man accused of massacring a black prayer group in Charleston, he poses with a Confederate flag, gazing at the camera as he did during court appearance.
In one he sits amid plastic planter pots gripping a Glock pistol in one hand and the Confederate flag in the other. "I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet.
The mass killing has sparked another round of an ongoing debate over the flag in South Carolina, where it was first flown over the State House in 1961 as the Civil Rights movement took hold.
Many African Americans liken the flag to the Swastika. After a bitter public debate it was removed to a nearby memorial.
President Obama
President Obama reportedly said "any death of this sort is a tragedy. Any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy. There is something particularly heartbreaking about the death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace, in a place of worship. This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America."
Obama has acknowledged that racism is still embedded in the US as "a part of DNA". And it is in our power to do something about it…. And at some point it's going to be important for the American people to come to grips with it, and for us to be able to shift how we think about the issue of gun violence collectively.
President Barack Obama has blamed the continued national political inaction on the issue on the influence of the National Rifle Association.
Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton called for "common-sense" gun reforms and a national reckoning with the persistent problem of "institutional racism."
Clinton said the country must take steps to keep guns from criminals and the mentally ills. Regulations, she said, can be passed while still respecting the Second Amendment and 'respecting responsible gun owners'.

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