Minara Helen Eti: US Congressman Jamie Raskin has called on the people of Bangladesh to stand by their side in establishing the rights of the people. He made the call in a speech to the second session of the 117th Congress, a representative of the 8th Congressional District of Maryland in the US House of Representatives. Expressing concern over the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, he said the government in Bangladesh has become a threat to basic human rights and civil liberties.
Raskin, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee, made the remarks on a US congressional website.
“Today, I declare my solidarity with the people of Bangladesh,” said Jamie, a congressman on the House Judiciary Committee, the Oversight and Reform Committee, and the House Administration Committee.
I declare my support for human rights activists, minority members and civil society at a time when the Government of Bangladesh continues to pose a threat to fundamental human rights and civil liberties. In his speech, Raskin noted that the Awami League government has been widely criticized for its “deteriorating” human rights situation. He said the government has already faced widespread condemnation for its deteriorating human rights situation, endangered ethnic groups, women, minorities, human rights activists and its failure to protect refugees. The issue of human rights violations in Bangladesh has also come up in the report of Amnesty International. The agency said human rights abuses had increased during the epidemic.
Criticizing the Digital Security Act, which came into force in 2018, he said Bangladeshi journalists and human rights defenders were being routinely harassed under the law because they criticized government irregularities or policies.
In addition, restrictions to prevent coronavirus have been used to block political meetings and suppress anti-government protests. The Congressman also claimed that violence against women and members of ethnic groups had increased during the epidemic.
In his speech, Raskin also criticized the activities of RAB. He said the government has consistently failed to stop the unjust activities of RAB and other law enforcement agencies. RAB and other law enforcement agencies have been accused of more than 600 disappearances since 2009 and nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018. The main targets were the opposition, journalists and human rights activists.
“I, Tom Lentus, a member of the Human Rights Commission, held a briefing last August on the dangerous increase in disappearances in Bangladesh,” Raskin said. Representatives from Human Rights Watch and the Asian Human Rights Commission attended. Also taking part were Shahidul Alam, a photographer arrested for criticizing the government on Facebook, and Sajedul Islam Sumon, sister of the missing opposition leader. He noted in a statement that the violence and disappearances were “severely hampering the activities of free opinion, opposition and civil society in Bangladesh.”
Ruskin added that the US Treasury Department banned RAB on International Human Rights Day last year for violating the rule of law, human rights and fundamental rights. But the UN report says the Bangladeshi government has resorted to intimidation and harassment in response to the sanctions. The homes of at least 10 families of the disappeared were raided at night and some relatives were forced to sign that their family members were not missing.
At the end of his speech, he called upon his colleagues to stand by the people of Bangladesh. “I would urge my colleagues to stand by the people of Bangladesh, especially those who are brave and most at risk,” he said. I urge the Government of Bangladesh to take immediate steps to ensure the respect and security of the people for their ‘civil rights’.
BP/SM
