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Sunday, May 6, 2012

[ALOCHONA] International Crimes and The Tribunal in Bangladesh



International Crimes and The Tribunal in Bangladesh

RICHARD ROGERS suggests ways to approach the war crimes trial towards achieving closure for the nation.

People's desire to know and understand the difficult and painful episodes of their own history is a very welcome feature in the contemporary world. Few communities around the globe can claim to have a history devoid of conflict or tragedy and dealing with the post-war situation has always been a challenge. Embarrassed or afraid of the truths that may rise to the surface, some call to forgive and forget the past, to 'turn a page', to leave the skeletons in the closet. Yet, time and again, this philosophy of repression has left too many questions unanswered, too much misunderstood, and has led history to repeat itself. In the former Yugoslavia, grievances hundreds of years old, resurfaced in the 1990s to result in one of the greatest tragedies in modern European history. In Rwanda, the echoes of colonial rule fuelled a divide that ended in a slaughter of almost a million people. Two decades after the First World War left Europe in ruins, Adolf Hitler managed to garner support for a second and even more devastating war. In 1971, Bangladesh was scarred by a terrible conflict that has not been put to rest. The way in which the people of Bangladesh approach this past will undoubtedly shape its future.

Victims' long wait for justice
Post conflict accountability can be dealt with in different ways. At the end of World War II, the three leaders of the Allied Powers met to discuss this very question. Winston Churchill advocated for the summary execution of all captured, high-ranking Nazi officers. Stalin preferred to hold a show trial, where the defendants would be presumed guilty and the forum would be used to catalogue their crimes and determine their punishment. Roosevelt was also in favour of a trial, but advocated for a more balanced procedure. The Nuremberg International Military Tribunal was born out of these negotiations, setting down the foundations for international criminal justice. Over the last six decades, criminal trials have gradually become the recognised means of assessing responsibility, and shedding light on conflicts. From Germany to Japan, Yugoslavia to Rwanda, or East Timor to Sierra Leone, victims of war and tyranny have come to associate justice with the path to truth, reconciliation and emancipation. Yet in most of these cases, the wait for justice has been long and hard.

One can cite the case of Cambodia where in the 1970s, a Maoist regime plunged the country into a four-year nightmare of forced collectivisation, systematic torture and the death of around 1.7 million people. Although the Khmer Rouge was toppled in January 1979, it was not until 2007 that a judicial body began to look into these atrocities. This judicial body is known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, or the 'Khmer Rouge Tribunal'.

One victim and subsequent witness at this Tribunal's first trial typifies the long and difficult wait for justice experienced by the victims of the Khmer Rouge. His name was Vann Nath.

After spending two and half years in a forced-labour camp, Vann Nath was arrested in December 1977. Following a series of interrogations and torture, he was sent to the notorious S21 prison. For a month he lay shackled by his ankles, sharing a filthy cell with up to 65 other detainees, in silence and in fear. Prisoners were only allowed six teaspoons of gruel a day, and if insects fell from the ceiling they fought each other to eat them. Prisoners were not allowed to talk, move, or sit up without permission. Vann Nath testified at trial that "people were dying one after another" and he felt like "death was imminent".

One day during his capture, Vann Nath was asked to paint a picture. His jailer approved of his artistic talent and Vann Nath spent the next 11 months painting portraits of a man he later learned was Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge. This ultimately saved his life as he was spared death in order to paint. Although his living conditions improved, the torment continued, as he heard the cries of tortured inmates and saw thousands leave to the killing fields. When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in January 1979, Vann Nath fled S21 to freedom, but in the knowledge that he was one of only a handful of prisoners to survive -- over 12,000 fellow inmates had perished.

Vann Nath's memories continued to haunt him long after the Khmer Rouge was defeated. As a kind of therapy, he began painting the scenes of S21 as he remembered it, and these shocking paintings now cover the walls of the Genocide Museum that occupies the former grounds of S21.

Finally, after 30 years of nightmares and unanswered questions, Vann Nath was given the opportunity to testify as a witness in the case against the former Chief of S21, a man known as Duch. When asked what he hoped to gain from the trial, Van Nath responded: "I never imagined I would be able to sit in this courtroom today…This is my privilege. This is my honour. I do not want anything more than that." Duch was sentenced by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to 35 years in prison with 19 years left to serve after deductions. Although many commentators criticised what they saw as a lenient sentence, Vann Nath said very sincerely that he accepted this decision by the Tribunal.

Vann Nath's story illustrates the importance of justice to the victims of atrocities. Justice, in Vann Nath's sense was seeing his own jailer confronted with the horrible crimes he had committed, and the knowledge that there was, finally, no impunity for his tormentor. His sense of justice mirrors the sentiments felt by victims all over the world.

Justice delayed
Sadly, the delay in bringing justice to Vann Nath proved to be too long. The verdict and sentence were appealed, but tragically, Vann Nath died a few months before the final appeal judgement was rendered, never to hear that Duch's term of imprisonment was increased from 19 years to life.

The road to effective justice is never an easy one, and the victims of atrocities are all too often sacrificed for political expediency. A genuine justice process cannot be powered solely by the painful memories and hopes of the victims. It requires strong public and political will, as well as substantial resources. It also requires a secure context, within which the lawyers and witnesses can feel at ease to make decisions and statements dictated by their conscience, and not by fear or external influence. InCambodia, such a state of security was not possible until the effective end of the civil war in 1998. Yet, even in a relatively safe environment and with the benefit of political will to hold trials, it took another nine years of difficult negotiations between the United Nations and the Government of Cambodia, to finalise the terms of international support.

In many ways the difficulties faced in Cambodia mirror hurdles to bring justice to the world over and nowhere more so than in Bangladesh. For 40 years, the appeals for a genuine judicial process fell victim to the constant shift of political power, from those wishing to pursue justice to those for whom the pursuit of justice collided with their personal or power interests.

Justice in Bangladesh was delayed for far too long, but now that the conditions are finally ripe, it must be pursued robustly.

Keeping memory alive
Complex criminal cases examining civil and military command structures require large amounts of evidence to establish the link between leaders and foot soldiers. In the context of trials, which, as in Bangladesh and Cambodia, take place decades after the fact, retrieving, safeguarding and cataloguing such evidence requires a tremendous effort. International trials in such circumstances would not be possible without organisations such as the Liberation War Museum, keeping alive the memories of past wrongdoings and acting as an archive for evidence. There are a number of examples of these types of organisations around the world and I would like to outline the work of one or two others.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, a volunteer organisation called 'Memorial' was founded in Russia, subsequently spreading to other post- Soviet States. Its goal is to promote the revelation of truth about past events and to safeguard the memories of the victims of political repression by totalitarian regimes. Originally conceived to document only Stalin-era atrocities, the organisation has developed into an important archive of post-Soviet human rights abuses, and an engine for the formation of public consciousness based on the values of democracy and law. Parties bringing cases against post-Soviet States to the European Court of Human Rights have relied heavily on the wealth of information in its database.

Another example is DCCAM. The Documentation Centre of Cambodia, began as a field office of Yale University's Cambodian Genocide Programme, funded by the US State Department. In 1997, it became an independent NGO, whose goal is to research, document and share the history of the Khmer Rouge period. To date, DCCAM has provided over half a million pages of documents and photographs to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to be used as evidence in the ongoing case against the remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime.

In Bangladesh, similar example has been set by the Liberation War Museum which is not just a building with walls, a roof and a ticket booth. The Museum's mission, just like the mission of Memorial and DCCAM, is to keep alive the memories of the painful past for future generations, and to teach them the importance of tolerance, mutual respect, democracy and the rule of law. Its efforts have contributed enormously to making the International Crimes Tribunal a reality. Long after the ICT completes its mission, the Liberation War Museum will undoubtedly continue to play a vital role in documenting and disseminating the court's findings, evidence and testimony, thus turning legal proceedings into a record of history.

The importance of outreach and legacy
To help transfer the important lessons about history and justice to the general public, Legacy and Outreach programmes have been implemented by war crimes courts or by NGOs. Important legacy initiatives may include public forums to discuss the trials, the publication of summaries of proceedings, public screening of important hearings and court rulings, workshops on crucial, legal and factual issues, as well as exhibitions and archives.

These sorts of initiatives are important because whilst the moral principles underpinning the trials may resonate with people from all walks of life, the slow and technical legal process can easily alienate much of the public, with only arrests and verdicts generating widespread interest. This in turn dilutes the peripheral, long-term benefits of the criminal proceedings. Outreach programmes, which can explain the legal process in a language understood by all, can help give the public a real sense of ownership.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal has public forums around Cambodia to discuss on-going proceedings. Students, legal professionals and poor farmers alike would be given an opportunity to listen and speak to representatives from all the various organs of the Tribunal. The representatives of the Tribunal speak to victims and perpetrators, those who believed in the benefits of the Tribunal and those who criticised it.

Although the tangible benefits are hard to measure, the feedback from the communities was extremely positive and the forums were always well attended.

In addition to these public forums, Cambodian NGOs, such as DCCAM, would organise transport, food and guided tours for communities across the country that wanted to visit the court and watch the on-going proceedings from the public gallery. These types of initiatives could also enhance the impact and the legacy of the ICT in Bangladesh. The Dhaka Tribunal is a national court and therefore accessible to many people, and thus, is an important benefit from a legacy perspective. Full advantage should be taken of this proximity.

State responsibility
Wars and mass atrocities are rarely free from the participation of State entities -- the army, the police, the State security services. Many Bengali victims may rightfully feel that a full inquiry into the crimes of 1971 is impossible without an investigation into the actions of the Pakistani military and State.

The State of Pakistan has never accepted responsibility for its actions or fostered local accountability mechanisms. This is despite findings by a Pakistani Judicial Commission that the Pakistani army may have committed atrocities and should face a Court Martial. Although this lack of acceptance and action by Pakistan is regrettable, it is not unusual. The former Soviet Union has never taken responsibility for its Cold War proxy conflicts that led to countless deaths, political upheaval and economic collapse in nations across the globe. The United States has never acknowledged its responsibility for the consequences of its carpet bombing operations in neutral Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Nor has China, for the support it provided to the Khmer Rouge. And Turkey still refuses to accept its role in the Armenian Genocide.

The goal of international criminal law is to determine criminal responsibility of individuals, not the responsibility of a State. Yet, the potential for international criminal trials to highlight the role of third States and to discuss State complicity, should not be ignored. The temporal jurisdiction of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal was designed to avoid the period of US bombing of Cambodia, which took place prior to the Khmer Rouge victory. Nevertheless, the lawyers have made numerous attempts to expose the influence of the United States and China on the events being examined. Likewise, Pakistani officials may never be brought before the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka to respond to allegations of mass atrocities, but that does not mean that these important facets of history cannot be aired during the proceedings.

It took the French government 50 years to acknowledge and apologise for its role in the deportation of 80,000 French Jews to Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. In 2008, the Australian government apologised for policies that "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss" to its Aboriginal population decades earlier. The decision to make both of these apologies was influenced by widely publicised litigation. In a similar way, the International Crimes Tribunal may also play a role in a future acknowledgment of responsibility by the State of Pakistan.

Addressing criticisms
To recap, I have discussed a number of ways in which the ICT in cooperation with the civil society can be of value to the people of Bangladesh. Beyond the fact of bringing a handful of alleged perpetrators to justice, the process has the potential to generate a comprehensive debate on crucial historical questions. It can also elucidate and disseminate a more objective record of history, strengthen national judicial capacity and the rule of law, as well as the peoples' trust in the legal process. Most importantly, it will give victims of 1971 atrocities a belated, but crucial chance to witness and participate in real justice, hopefully laying to rest decades of unanswered questions and painful memories.

However, all of these important benefits may be overshadowed, or even undone, if the reputation of the ICT is marred by criticisms levied against it, both nationally and internationally. When looking at the criticisms voiced so far, it is clear that many have been based more on supposition than substance; many have simply been attempts to obstruct and undermine the judicial process for political ends. These types of criticisms should be ignored or dismissed.

Thankfully, other observers and monitors have provided far more constructive commentary or even recommendations aimed at improving the process. The value of some of these suggestions has been recognised by the Bangladeshi authorities who have relied on them to introduce procedural rules. This process of developing rules of procedure and evidence is quite normal in such courts and should be encouraged.

When we look around the globe we find that none of the other war crimes courts were blessed with perfect rules from their inception. The fact that the procedural rules of the Yugoslav Tribunal have been revised 46 times over the last 18 years is a testament to its early imperfections. So, just as the other courts have adapted over the years, so too can the ICT legitimately update its procedures to meet the needs of justice. The Tribunal deserves to be given the chance to do so.

In any event, it is important that Bangladeshi and foreign observers see the ICT in context and put their concerns about the rules or the practice into proper perspective. Firstly, it is important to appreciate the huge difference in resources between the ICT and the other International Criminal Tribunals. The ICT was initially allocated 1.5 million USD for its entire life. That may sound a lot compared to the regular courts and indeed it may be hard to justify a bigger budget in a relatively poor country. But that budget is tiny compared to the UN assisted courts: The permanent International Criminal Court in The Hague now has an annual budget of around 130 million USD. You may be astonished to hear that despite having spent 800 million in its first 10 years, the International Criminal Court has only completed one trial, against one defendant, and delivered its first judgment last week. The two ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals -- one for Yugoslavia and one for Rwanda -- have a similar sized budget to the permanent court and together have consumed three billion USD since the mid-1990s. For that money they have dealt with around 250 defendants. Even the relatively modest (so-called) hybrid courts -- the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal -- cost around 30-40 million USD per year. Taking an average, one can expect the cost per defendant in these UN assisted courts to be at least 15-25 million USD, sometimes considerably more.

With such large budgets one would expect the trials in the UN courts to be incredibly efficient and unquestionably fair. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case and never has been. Let me give you a few examples of fair trial concerns in those courts to help you put the criticisms of the ICT into perspective:

One of the criticisms of the ICT is that it has not satisfied the procedural rights relating to pre-trial detention. If this is correct then the procedures should be reviewed. But when we look at the other courts we see far greater violations. In Cambodia, the first defendant had been held in illegal detention by a local military court for over eight years prior to his transfer to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

But contrary to fair trial norms and the expectations of human rights organisations, he did not receive any form of relief from this UN assisted court to compensate him for the breach of his rights.

Another example relates to the speed of the judicial process. According to fair trial principles, every defendant has the right to be tried without undue delay. Provisional detention, meaning prior to conviction, may become arbitrary if it goes on for too long. Yet at the Rwanda Tribunal, around 15 defendants were held in detention for over 10 years before the verdict against them was delivered; and two had to wait in detention for 16 years before being judged at trial. Even at the permanent International Criminal Court -- which had the benefit of coming after the ad hoc tribunals -- the first defendant had to wait in detention for almost seven years before receiving a verdict, and that was on relatively minor charges. It is difficult to see how periods as long as 16 years can satisfy the defendant's right to a speedy trial.

Another criticism is that some of the crimes being tried at the ICT lack precise definition. This is a matter that deserves serious consideration. But a lack of precise definition -- both of the crimes and the modes of liability -- has been a common feature at all the other tribunals, especially before the first judgments have been delivered. The Yugoslav Tribunal judges created an entire new theory of liability -- called joint criminal enterprise -- that had not even been mentioned in its Statute, let alone defined. And several defendants were convicted under joint criminal enterprise without it even being mentioned in the indictment.

Another UN court that prosecuted persons for crimes that lacked specific definitions, was the Special Court for Sierra Leone. In that court defendants were convicted for the crimes of forced marriages and conscription of child soldiers, prior to any existing definition. These are just a few examples of the fair trial challenges faced at war crimes courts around the world. It is remarkable to me that certain actors and organisations are more comfortable criticising the ICT -- which is trying to achieve so much with so little -- than they are criticising the international tribunals, which have achieved so little with so much.

This is not to argue that the practices described above should be taken as the benchmark. The ICT should seek to avoid the problems seen at the other courts and aspire to higher standards. But they do provide some context to the criticisms, particularly when you consider the tremendous resource advantages that the other courts have over the ICT. So it is important that outside observers put their criticisms into perspective, rather than jumping to conclusions that the whole ICT process is doomed. Trials involving war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are extremely difficult to administer, it has always been a matter of adapting and improving, and none of the war crimes courts -- however well-funded -- have administered flawless trials or managed to fully meet the expectations of the parties, the public, or human rights organisations, let alone the victims. In fact at all the courts there have been major fair trial concerns and serious disappointments as the judges and lawyers alike have struggled to deal with the novelties and complexities of mass atrocity cases.

Yet despite all the challenges and imperfections and disappointments, these processes of accountability have been worth fighting for. Not only do they bring serious perpetrators to justice, but they also help societies turn the page and help people to move forward with their lives. When discussing judicial procedures, it is always worth remembering that procedural fairness is crucial for both the accused and the victims. Not only does fairness help ensure that the court reaches the right verdict, but it also helps to legitimise the process and to counter any improper attempts to discredit the court. What determines the successes and failures of a tribunal is not the quantity or validity of the criticisms, but how those responsible for the difficult task of prosecuting and adjudicating the crimes respond to the legitimate needs of justice.

***

From a historical point of view, proceedings dealing with international crimes are a unique opportunity to clarify pivotal historical events on the basis of a thorough examination of available evidence, and within the context of an adversarial debate. Arguably, no other environment can create comparable conditions for reaching objective conclusions on key historical questions. If the judicial process is managed well, the benefits can be felt for generations to come. Those involved in these important endeavours must not become overwhelmed by the challenges or disillusioned by the criticisms, but must continue to strive to make sure that justice is done.

Richard J Rogers is an expert in international criminal law.
Additional research and assistance for this article was provided by Alex Prezanti.

http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2012/May/international.htm



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[ALOCHONA] Re: Goom, Khoon....





http://dailynayadiganta.com/details/45187
http://sonarbangladesh.com/blog/post/108349

On Sun, May 6, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2012/05/06/143736
http://sonarbangladesh.com/blog/post/108214


On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 12:35 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Rights groups blame law enforcers- Forced disappearances show alarming trend

According to Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights organisation, at least 1,600 people have been victims of extrajudicial killings since 2004.

Another human rights watchdog has said, 30 people were reportedly victims of forced disappearance in 2011 amongthem 14 were allegedly picked up by Rapid Action Battalion, 11 by DetectiveBranch police, two by police and three by member of different law enforcingagencies. Two people became victim of forced disappearance in 2009 and 18 in2010.

A significant number of the 30 people who became victims of forced disappearances in 2012, were politicalleaders. Such disappearances, whichhave emerged as a growing trend, is assuming an alarming nature compared withsuch incidents at any time in the past, rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra said. Fifty-one people were victims'forced disappearance' or 'secret killings in 2011, the rights group said. 'We have received reports that a number of leaders of the Bangladesh NationalistParty, BNP-backed student organisation Chhatra Dal and even of the ruling AwamiLeague were reported missing,' Noor Khan, director (investigation) of therights group, said.

Both Odhikar and Ain o Salish Kendra said that in most cases, the families of the disappeared persons or the people killed and their witnesses alleged that the law enforcing agencies were involved in the incidents.

 http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=38244

http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2012/05/03/143319

On Wed, May 2, 2012 at 11:26 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

Bangladesh's Vanishing Justice

The disappearance of an opposition leader is part of a worrying trend

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Several small bombs went off in Dhaka Sunday, heightening an already tense standoff between the Bangladeshi government and protestors. The conflict began when the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called a strike last month in response to the disappearance of its organizing secretary Ilyas Ali on April 17. Mr. Ali's car was found near his house at midnight—doors open, lights blinking. Neither he nor his driver has been seen since.

The BNP is now on its fourth strike since the disappearance, a two-day nationwide shutdown that ended Monday. At least six innocent people have been killed during the strikes so far. These are clearly unsettling law and order, if Mr. Ali's disappearance didn't make a mockery of it already.

The ruling Awami League denies any role in the disappearance and says that law enforcement agencies are trying to locate him. The BNP is loath to believe them, given widespread suspicions that certain agencies of the state have been involved in such disappearances in the past. The two parties and their leaders have been rivals for decades, but that's not the only reason for this animosity. Common Bangladeshis are also disturbed by Mr. Ali's disappearance, since it's not an isolated case—only the most prominent of more than 100 similar ones in the past few years.

Like many developing countries, Bangladesh has had its share of political assassinations, extrajudicial killings and disappearances. But mostly these occurred in the 1970s, when the country was new and facing serious instability. Since the military stepped down in 1991 and allowed democracy to take some root, political strife has mainly taken the form of legal harassment and police brutality by the incumbent and national strikes and street violence by the opposition. These positions alternated between the Awami League and the BNP.

But during the BNP's last tenure (2001-2006), the party broke the pattern and began to persecute the opposition more viciously than either party had before. The unprecedented torture of opponents and minorities violated the minimum protocols of rights and decency upon which democracies depend. The BNP reintroduced extrajudicial killings under an anticrime drive ironically named "Operation Clean Heart." Those believed to be criminals, but hard to convict within a weak legal system, were captured and said to be have died of "heart attacks" while in custody.

The operation proved popular with the general public, which was fed up with crime and with watching criminals dodge the legal net. Encouraged, the BNP created a new elite paramilitary force called the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). This has since emerged as the country's most effective crime-fighting force, continuing after the Awami League reclaimed power in 2009, though not without accusations of human rights abuses. Many alleged criminals in their custody are said to have died in "crossfire" while attempting to escape.

The public initially condoned such expedient dispensation of "justice," but grew increasingly troubled by the body count. Because of sustained criticism at home and abroad, the incidences of crossfire subsided over the past two years.

However, it is widely believed that law enforcement has replaced crossfire with the new phenomenon of disappearances. Ain O Shalish Kendra, a leading rights group, puts the number of abducted at 100, of which 76 remain missing and the rest are dead. Another rights group, Odhikar, claims that of the 30 people picked up in 2011, 11 were taken by RAB, and the rest by other agencies of law enforcement.

That's an even more damaging trend to law and order. In crossfire, at least one comes to know what happened to a person and also who might be responsible. In the case of bodiless disappearances, the perpetrators are cloaked from all accountability.

And the alleged disappearances by law enforcement have actually created more opportunities for criminals. In some instances, it is suspected that criminal groups have snatched people by pretending to be law enforcement. Debates are now raging as to whether Mr. Ali was abducted by a government agency or a private gang, with no definite clue in either direction.

Both parties are more focused on the political contest surrounding this latest disappearance, ignoring the more fundamental issue of basic rights and security in the country. The Awami League's supporters, defending the party against the opposition, now point out that political assassinations occurred when the BNP was previously in power. There was a brazen grenade attack on Awami leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed in 2004, which killed and injured a number of party members. The BNP can also be criticized now for rallying only for its own leader, rather than for all the disappeared.

No matter what happened in the past, or the faults of the opposition, the government cannot avoid the responsibility of ensuring basic public security. Even if it is telling the truth about Mr. Ali, it is still responsible for a situation in which 100 people have simply gone missing. The onus of finding them or at least finding out what happened to them, and ensuring that this trend does not continue, remains on the government.

While the BNP is at fault for introducing extrajudicial killings, the Awami League is responsible for allowing such practices to continue and seemingly expand. Bangladeshi politicians are too often willing to accept any politically expedient measure—even if patently unethical or unlawful—when in power. They forget that every innovation in misrule may come back to haunt them in due course. If Bangladesh is to remain a democratic country, then extrajudicial killings and disappearances must cease immediately.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303916904577375631414377796.html


On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 2:26 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Dr M A Hasan (dhasan471@gmail.com) 's article

http://www.amadershomoy2.com/content/2012/04/27/news0436.htm


On Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 8:04 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Bangladesh: Alarming Rise in Disappearances

Government Needs to Account for Missing Opposition Figures :Human Rights Watch

The Bangladesh government should immeediately order an independent and impartial investigation into the growing number of cases where opposition members and political activists have vanished without trace, Human Rights Watch said today. The most recent episode, on April 17, 2012, involved Elias Ali, secretary of the Sylhet Division of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Ali's case is part of an alarming rise in such incidents, including those of opposition members and political activists. Human Rights Watch recently expressed concern over the April 4 abduction and subsequent death of Aminul Islam, a prominent labor rights activist. Ain-O-Sailash Kendra, a leading human rights group in Bangladesh, has documented the disappearance of least 22 people in 2012 alone. According to Odhikar, another Dhaka-based human rights group, more than 50 people have disappeared since 2010.

The rise in disappearances, particularly of opposition members and activists, requires a credible and independent investigation, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The government has taken no serious steps to ensure such an investigation of these disappearances nor to prevent them in the first place.

Ali and his driver, Ansar Ali, have both vanished. The police found Ali's abandoned car and mobile phone in a parking lot near his house in Banani in central Dhaka at around midnight on April 17. There has been no sign of Ali or his driver since.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on the police to investigate Ali's disappearance, but also said that she believed Ali and his driver were hiding at his party's orders to create a situation that would allow the opposition to blame the government.

Human Rights Watch has long documented abductions and killings by Bangladeshi security forces, especially the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). In its World Report 2012, Human Rights Watch noted that although the number of RAB killings had dropped following domestic and international criticism, there had been a sharp increase in enforced disappearances, with persons disappearing after last being seen in the custody of security agencies leading to concerns that security agencies have replaced one form of abuse with another. Bangladeshi authorities routinely refuse to confirm the detention or fate of those persons who disappear after being seen in their custody.

Under international law, an enforced disappearance is any form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person.

Home Minister Sahara Khatun, speaking in January, dismissed Human Rights Watch's allegations of possible security force involvement in abuses and laid the entire blame for disappearances on criminal elements.

The government of Sheikh Hasina has made repeated promises to end abuses and ensure justice and accountability, Adams said. But in spite of these public pledges, the government consistently dismisses or ignores evidence of abuses by the security forces. This is why an independent investigation into all cases of disappearances is urgently required.

Human Rights Watch further expressed concern about apparent excessive use of force by the security forces against protesters throughout Bangladesh during a general strike called by the BNP to protest Ali's disappearance. Since April 21, two protesters, Monwar Miya and another who is yet to be identified, have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces. Reportedly, thousands more protesters have been injured and about one thousand have been arrested. Human Rights Watch called on the government to ensure a full and effective investigation into the two deaths, and ensure security forces only use the minimum necessary force to deal with violent crimes, as set out in the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

While the police are allowed to stop protesters from committing acts of criminal violence, they must not use excessive force to quell the protests, Adams said.

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Bangladesh, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/asia/bangladesh

For more information, please contact:

In Los Angeles, Brad Adams (English): +44-7908-728333 (mobile); or adamsb@hrw.org

In The Hague, Tejshree Thapa (Nepali, English): +31-70-306-3817; or +31-6-533-664-63 (mobile); or thapat@hrw.org

In Mumbai, Meenakshi Ganguly, (Bengali, Hindi, English): +91-98-2003-6032 (mobile); or 6Scan has detected a possible fraud attempt from "mail.hrw.org" claiming to be gangulm@hrw.org

In New York, Jayshree Bajoria (Hindi, English): +1-646-753-0892 (mobile); or bajorij@hrw.org

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/26/bangladesh-alarming-rise-disappearances


On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 3:07 PM, bdmailer <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:


Bangladesh authorities must account for deaths amid spate of disappearances

Fatalities during protests about the disappearance of a key opposition figure seven days ago in Bangladesh must be thoroughly investigated by the authorities, Amnesty International said.

Ilias Ali, secretary of the Sylhet Division of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) disappeared together with his driver Ansar Ali on 17 April.
His is the latest in a spate of disappearances in which security forces, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have been implicated, though they deny detaining those missing. During clashes over the disappearances between the BNP protesters and the police, two men were killed – both on 23 April.

Monawar Hossain was found dead in the Biswanath area of Sylhet with gun shot wounds, and a second man died in a Sylhet hospital of bullet wounds. According to witnesses, police had opened fire on demonstrators after being attacked with stones. "The Bangladesh authorities must establish an independent investigation to determine how these men died and who fired the bullets, and bring to justice those responsible for these deaths," said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International's Bangladesh Researcher.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called on police to investigate the disappearance of Ilias Ali and his driver. Paradoxically she also stated the two men chose to go into hiding to "create an issue".  "Why did the prime minister order an inquiry, but then claim she knows what has happened? Any inquiry will be credible only if it is independent and free from police and political involvement – otherwise it risks simply towing the police line," said Faiz. "There appears to be a pattern of enforced disappearances - a concerted effort to eliminate people deemed undesirable."

One trade unionist has been killed, and more than 20 people have disappeared this year. On 4 April, Aminul Islam, a trade union leader went missing. He was found dead a day later in Ghatail, north of Dhaka. His family saw evidence of torture on his body and suspect he was abducted by security forces. He had been previously subject to arrest and beaten by members of the National Security Intelligence for his trade union activities.
"Aminul Islam was an outspoken leader known for his ability to mobilise workers for better conditions, which made him a target," said Faiz.

Two other BNP members, Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar and Junaid Ahmed, went missing on 2 April. Iftekhar Ahmed's family say they were taken from their homes by plain clothes officers. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Al Mukaddas and Mohammad Waliullah, members of the student organisation Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, went missing on 4 February. They have not been heard from since.

Amnesty International has spoken to family members of many of the victims, who say abductions are usually carried out by plain clothes security officers who are easily identified because they wear similar clothing, including heavy duty shoes unusual for the hot Bangladesh climate. They also have short hair.

Amnesty International has documented abductions and killings by Bangladesh security forces, especially the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), for years.
"These disappearances cannot be simply brushed off - it is the government's responsibility to bring the perpetrators to account, and ensure justice for the victims," said Faiz.

Amnesty International
Asia Pacific Regional Program - South Asia
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK
Tel: 0044 20 7413 5652

 http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=380438


On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:40 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Farhad Mazhar on Goom/ Khoon:



http://dailynayadiganta.com/details/42806


On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Political disappearances plague Bangladesh

By Nicolas Haque

Photo by AFP

Human rights organisations say about 100 people, mostly political activists, have disappeared in the last year in Bangladesh. Among them is Ilyas Ali, a former parliament member from the region of Sylhet. He was seen as a rising figure among the ranks of the opposition. Ali's wife is convinced security forces abducted him because of his political activities.

While her fears are not groundless, it is also true that local politicians are often linked to organised crime. Many of those who have disappeared had a criminal past. Ali, for example, had spent time in prison on suspicion of murder.

Adilur Rahman, a Dhaka-based human-rights lawyer, believes that the disappearances reveal the shortcomings of the justice system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rHA-0WarmM0#t=4s

There is a two-three year backlog of cases in court and criminals often go unpunished."Many local politicians believe they are above the law," Rahman says. "These disappearances are a form of quick justice."Security forces, though, deny any involvement in the disappearances. Recently, after a meeting with her intelligence chief, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the Bangladesh prime minister, said that Ilyas was in hiding and this was a ploy to stir up trouble.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), along with its 18 political allies, responded by announcing a countrywide general strike on Sunday.After a night of violence, during which angry opposition activists torched vehicles, schools, businesses and shops remained shut throughout on Sunday.

About 30,000 extra police officers were on duty and security forces cordoned off the BNP headquarters in the capital, Dhaka. Opposition activists who were to be seen on the streets said hundreds of their colleagues had been arrested. Striking a note of defiance, they have vowed to continue to protest until Ilyas Ali is found alive.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2012/04/22/political-disappearances-plague-bangladesh
http://sonarbangladesh.com/blog/post/106031


On Mon, Apr 23, 2012 at 1:24 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:


Bangladesh police out in force as tension rises over missing politician

Ilias Ali of opposition party disappears, with fingers pointing at Sheikh Hasina's government and security forces

Saad Hammadi in Dhaka and Jason Burke in Delhi
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 April 2012

Police in Bangladesh used baton charges, live bullets and teargason Sunday in clashes with demonstrators protesting against the alleged abduction of a senior politician. The violence was the most acute for many months in the unstable state.

In Dhaka, the capital, dozens of small devices were reported to have exploded and 20 arrests were made. In the north-eastern city of Sylhet, 12 people were reported to have been injured and more than 50 detained in running battles. On Sunday night a tense calm had been established, although tens of thousands of security personnel remained deployed across the country in anticipation of further clashes on Monday.

The crisis was sparked by the disappearance last Tuesday of Ilias Ali, a key organiser with the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP). Ali was the latest in a series of political activists who have apparently been abducted, raising fears of a concerted campaign of intimidation aimed at opposition politicians. At least 22 people have gone missing so far this year, the local human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra said. In 2011, the number was 51. Estimates of the exact number vary though all indicate a rising overall total.

Many local and international campaigners have blamed security forces, accusing the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and local police of eliminating opposition figures to benefit the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister.

Spokesmen from the Rab have denied the charge, saying that many of those found dead or who have disappeared were involved in crime and killed by associates or rivals. The director of the Rab's legal wing, Commander Mohammed Sohail, said an operation had been launched to recover Ali and a search was continuing.

Speaking in Dhaka last week, Hasina suggested Ali might have been "hiding somewhere" on the orders of his party. Ministers described his disappearance as "sad" and "unexpected".Police officials contacted by the Guardian refused to comment on the case.

Ali's wife, Tahsina Rushdir, said her husband, a veteran activist who had risen through the ranks of the BNP, had been campaigning for the party in Sylhet before he disappeared. "He told me that the government was making a list of people who were being critical about them. He wouldn't be picked up this way unless he had posed a threat to the government," she said. "The waiting is very difficult."

More than 30 people were injured in clashes between opposition activists and the police on the streets of Dhaka last week following the news that Ali was missing. Tensions in the south Asian state, home to 160 million people, have been building for months. Runaway inflation, rising inequality and recent corruption charges against some ministers have all combined to undermine the popularity of the government, in power since winning a landslide victory in 2008.

Politics in Bangladesh, which won independence from Pakistan after a bloody conflict in 1971, has been marked for decades by the personal rivalry of Sheikh Hasina, head of the Bangladesh Awami League, and Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP. This has not however prevented economic growth rates that are among south Asia's highest and some significant improvements in areas such as education. But governance and the rule of law remain weak. Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar, said the disappearances were "a result of the impunity granted to the law enforcement [agencies] for the last 41 years".

Dr Iftekhar Uz-Zaman, executive director of the Bangladesh chapter of Berlin-based Transparency International, blamed "growing partisan political influence" that was eroding "the capacity of the state to promote rule of law, justice, equality and basic human rights of the people".

Among the recent missing are three student leaders from the BNP. The body of a trade union organiser, apparently tortured, was found after he disappeared on 4 April. Two opposition activists, both members of an Islamic student organisation, disappeared in February.

Shafiq Ahmed, minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, said that a full investigation was under way to locate all those who have disappeared, and that allegations that the government could be responsible in any way for abductions were motivated by "an interest to gain public attention".

The minister also rejected criticism of the government's economic record. "The economy [in Bangladesh] is better than many countries in the face of global economic depression," he said.

The Rab has received training from British police, the Guardian revealed in 2010. Details of the programme appeared in a number of cables released by WikiLeaks. The Rab is believed to be responsible for up to 1,000 extrajudicial killings since being formed eight years ago.

In its 2012 annual report Human Rights Watch said ministers have denied that such incidents occur, even when the government's own investigations found evidence of wrongdoing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/22/bangladesh-police-tension-missing-politician


Disappearances go unanswered: Law enforcers seen to be law-breakers 

 
22 people so far disappeared this year, raising concern as people suspect law enforcers' involvement, said Ain O Salish Kendra.No-one was found -- dead or alive. 51 people went missing last year while the number was 30 in the year before. Of them, 21 were found dead either by law enforcers or other people. In 2009, only two people went missing.
 











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[ALOCHONA] Govt not embarrassed for Hillary's comment on Goom/Khoon: Deepumoni



Govt is not embarrassed for Hillary's comment on Goom/Khoon: Deepumoni



http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2012/05/07/143920



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[ALOCHONA] River-linking Project: Experts find Pranab's assurance far from reality



River-linking Project: Experts stay concerned, find Pranab's assurance far from reality

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday reassured that India's river-linking project will not harm Bangladesh as it does not include any Himalayan river that flows down to Bangladesh.

Many Bangladeshi analysts contest his view and say the project has already affected Bangladesh with India diverting Teesta water to Mechi River in Bihar through the Mahananda.



India has been diverting water from the Teesta to the Ganges basin though the water was supposed to feed the Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh, said Engineer M Inamul Haque, former director general of Water Resources Planning Organisation (Warpo).
"If they say they are not doing anything that harms us, it is not true. We have already been affected for diversion of Teesta water," said Inamul, a leading hydrologist in the country.



India has recently completed a survey on linking the Ganges River with the Sundarbans and is conducting another survey on the Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganges project. It also initiated another survey on the Brahmaputra after the Indian Supreme Court had asked the Indian government to go ahead with the river-linking project.

While India keeps Bangladesh in the dark about its projects on trans-boundary rivers, different websites, independent studies and international reports give a gloomy picture, just the opposite of what the Indian high-ups are saying.

A report titled "Mountains of Concrete" published by non-governmental organisation International Rivers in 2008 says, "As many dams are built in the Himalayas, on every tributary and every river, the downstream impacts will extend from the mountains to the plains and all the way to the estuaries."

"A large number of dams in the basins would cause dramatic transformations in the patterns, quantity and quality of flows," it says.


A group of Bangladeshi experts conducted a study five years ago to ascertain the impact of the Indian project that involves linking 30 major rivers and diverting the water of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. About 30,000 square kilometres of Khulna and Barisal divisions, and parts of Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions will be severely affected, says the study. The capital also falls in the danger zone. "We basically conducted a qualitative study based on information from several sources. The effects could be even worse," said a senior analyst, who was involved with the study.

Biodiversity, agriculture and industry in the Ganges Dependant Area (GDA) -- both sides of the Padma River -- and parts of the Meghna River bank will be badly hit if India implements the river-linking project. The GDA alone covers 20 percent of the country and is home to around 30 million people.

The river-linking project aims to divert river water from India's north-eastern region that witnesses an annual rainfall of 3,500mm to its west, a region with annual rainfall as low as 700mm. "If we want to ascertain the impacts of the river-linking project, we need details. But we do not know what they are doing," Dr Ainun Nishat told The Daily Star earlier.

During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit in January 2010, Bangladesh and India signed a treaty on bilateral cooperation that includes sharing of river waters.

Bangladesh allowed India to use water of the Feni River for its plant in Tripura after the two countries resumed talks for sharing the water of Teesta and Feni rivers last year. But India has still kept Bangladesh waiting on signing the Teesta water-sharing deal. In the meantime, India went ahead with its river-linking and Tipaimukh hydroelectric projects. It did not even inform Bangladesh about the formation of a company to implement the Tipaimukh project.

Pranab yesterday told the Bangladesh prime minister that a subcommittee under the Joint Rivers Commission will be formed to conduct a study on the proposed Tipaimukh dam. Bangladesh will be informed about the findings to clear confusion from people's minds about the project.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=233064

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[ALOCHONA] Hartal Photos and Rescue of Elias [11 Attachments]

[Attachment(s) from Modasser Hossain included below]

 

                                         Rescue of Elias, or Destabilizing Government
through Violence and Vandalism?
 
BNP leader Elias Ali was reportedly missing from April 17 midnight . The government took initiatives to rescue him immediately after being informed. But the BNP and its alliance have resorted to vandalism and violence instead of cooperating with the government to rescue him. Following his disappearance, the main opposition, BNP its main ally Jamaat and other alliance members, have been creating untold sufferings and misery to public life by staging successive hartals (for 5 days in total) in which they resorted to violence, arson, murder and horror to public life.
 
The BNP-Jamat alliance has made the disappearance of Elias Ali an issue to destabilize the democartic government. Meanwhile, a number of people have succumbed to their violence. The supporters of 'hartal' (general strike) have been damaging vehicles, public installations and attacking the law enforcing agencies and general people on the street. The shops, restaurants, banks, market places etc. were set ablaze by them (during the first day of hartal). The normal life of the people was seriously affected through hindering their natural movements, chasing on-street by BNP and alliance activists and hoodlums. Before the first day of hartal (April 21), a bus was set ablaze and the innocent bus driver was burnt to death. On the same day seven more buses were set on fire. A micro-bus driver succumbed to injuries in Savar when chased by the pro-hartal activists on 23 April. In addition, five people died when the hartal supporters went on violent, affected normalcy in public life, created huge destruction to public property, attacked police station and the UNO's office at Biswanath, Sylhet. When police tried to disperse the hooligans and unruly activists, at some point, two persons died out of the violent clash, another one died after being taken to hospital. The law enforcing agencies have been maintaining utmost restraint while facing the siatuation created by the BNP and its alliance in the name of hartal. It is obvious that they have been continuing violence and vandalism with the evil intention of destabilizing the peaceful, democratic atmosphere.
 
During the five days of the hartal in the last two weeks, the hartal supporters attacked and were furious to common people whosoever came out of home for various necessities. Rickshaws, autorickshaws, cars, buses and every means of public transport could not escape their fury. They did not even hesitate to attack the patients who were rushing to hospitals and health care centres. The education boards had to cancel the ongoing Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations several times for avoiding hartal and damage to students' life and tranquility. Students of different institutions have raised their voice against the violent hartals.  The price of the essentials has gone up while vegetables and perishable items have remained piled up at the production centres entailing huge loss of the producers. The manual workers, small traders and peasants have been suffering financial loss.  The business community appealed to the oppostion BNP to stop hartals for the sake of economy.  But BNP has no care and concern for the economy of the country.
 
Law enforcing agencies have been deployed in huge numbers to protect the life and property of the people from the violence of the hartal supporters.  The concentartion of the law enforcing agencies on finding out Elias Ali has therefore been disturbed due to the hartal situations. It could be easy to conduct the investigations more intensely to find out Mr. Elias Ali should the BNP restrained from calling hartal or other destructive activities and extended cooperation to the law enforce agencies. But the fact is that BNP is more interested in creating havoc rather than finding out Elias Ali as a ploy to destabilize the democratic government.
 
The much talked about harsh fact behind the disappearance of Elias Ali is ascribed by many to his personal and political activities. He created numerous enemies during his student and political life. He was known as one of the terrors in the Dhaka University campus. There were so many murder charges against him. He was expelled from the Dhaka University in 1987 for his terrorist activities. Elias Ali is ill-reputed as the ring leader of the terrorists who killed the BNP's student front leader Bazlur Rahman Shahid alias 'Pagla' (Crazy) Shahid on 11 December, 1988 and Mamun and Mahmud, two leaders of the same student  front on December 04, 1992 . One person was killed when Elias group and Ratan group of BNP student front were engaged in a gun fight on August 03, 1992 . In addition, this Elias Ali was arrested on charge of killing BNP student leader Mirza Galib and Chattro League leader Liton on 16 June 1992 . The new Committee of the BNP's student front was constituted with Elias Ali as General Secretary, but that committee had to be dissolved only within there months on charge of his involvement in the terrorist activities.
 
Mr. Elias created terrorism in his constituency Bishwanath-Balagonj after being elected MP in 2001. He created a group of cadres after his name (to be known as Elias Group) who took to the streets openly to exterminate the opposition leaders and activists. At last, the charges on attempt to murder of British High Commissioner, Mr. Anwar Chawdhury and the murder of former Finance Minister Mr. S A M S Kibria were also labelled against him. It is assumed in general that the enemies created by Elias Ali during his student and political life may have involvement in his disappearance.
 
--- ---- -----
 
 
 
               
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 






Attachment(s) from Modasser Hossain

10 of 10 Photo(s)

1 of 1 File(s)


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