Under the 2007-2008 caretaker government, 319 people were killed extra-judicially…. Woeful though this record is, it was even worse during the BNP-Jamaat regime… In 2005 alone, a record 400 people were killed by government agents. …. With this type of performance in our history, can we seriously hope for a zero kill year?
Jalal Alamgir of Drishtipat Writers’ Collective argues here that we can.
In its election manifesto, AL has promised to stop extra-judicial killings. But it won’t be easy to rein back the security forces who, over the last seven years, have honed their aptitude for abusing power. AL’s leadership must send the message clearly that these killings will not be tolerated, and it must prosecute any offense fully.
I certainly hope Dr. Alamgir is right. Stopping extra-judicial killing will give the AL govt. a large amout of moral authority. It is undoubtedly the right thing to do. I think PM deserves credit simply for taking this initiative.
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hi tacit,
is zero killing possible??? i don’t think so, bcoz NTV’s Atiq and so many others hv already given their lives ever since the hon’ble pm has taken the initiative.
hv you ever heard about the american kkk or ku klax klans??? once upon a time in america this group emerged due to, frequency of deaths like innocent atiq-like killings proliferated beyond control of the law enforcing agencies.
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I think the law enforce agency should give up law enforcing altogether. why should not they just lazy around just like the rest of the population of this god forsaken country. time to lat down the arm fellas and let the online bloggers do the dirty work.
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yo syj whassup!
write-up hits the nail on…, kudos!!! oh boy, great show do keep it up. in the heart of dhaka magh bazar atiq was shot watched by thousands so, bloggers are definitely not cleaners and the cops definitely on mattresses???
characters roving around ctg city gives the creeps with silent tolling on ascendency
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yeh careem,
tnx a ton, well said about our cops the best part was last saturday when DIG Naeem on live TV claimed the other day repeated by all TV channels the whole day that, a campaign to arrest terrorist will be launched from midnight!!!
is this the height of stupidity??? or a deliberate ploy to alert the godfathers to go underground??? this was similarly even commented in the print media at frequent intervals, but this callous scourge of folly apparently dies hard!!!
hv a nice day!
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Sal Y Jamal, where do you get your information? KKK didn’t start because ‘once upon a time in america … frequency of deaths like innocent atiq-like killings proliferated beyond control of the law enforcing agencies’. KKK is a white supremacist group that started in 1865 after the Confederacy lost the American Civil War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
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i have two questions for the informed public. 1. has any extra-judicial killings already occured under the new AL gov’t? 2. what can be done to prevent gov’t killings? the article states that political will is most important. is there anything else besides will?
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JR – tnx for the kkk info especially the website which has a gold mine of details oh boy! you are an exceptional talent.
wht abt this m zia ispahani’s audacity to say when we hold trials of the war criminals??? pls provide yr comments so that, we may give a piece of our mind to this; callous, arrogant, conceited scourge to mind his own business!!!
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syj, totally agree. the pakistani guy’s audacity was unbelievable. after almost 40 yrs have passed since their barbarism and he still comes in to say, please dont embarrass us, amra shobai bhai bhai. and the bangladeshi foreign ministry didn’t say anything?!! they should’ve responded right there and then saying no. the paki/saudis are gonna put pressure to not do this. the government needs to be firm.
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I think with Awami League’s historic massive win after the 1970 elections people expect a lot from this government. I think their expectations are realistic and very much possible if there is a sytematic goal-oriented step-wise approach by PM Hasina and her cabinet.
People think that after 1971 it is the second opportunity to change the course of Bangladesh for good.
I am glad that so far there has been no extra-judicial killings since this governmet took over. But I think it should set up speedy trial courts to expedite verdicts in case of violent crimes. I suggest that cases like the murder of the NTV video editor should be disposed of in a week and the criminals executed in no more than 7 days. Such heinous crimes demand exemplary punishment to killers and murderers.
I also think the MPs should scrap ordinances that were enacted by the failed corrupt Fakruddin CTG to depoliticise the parliament. I fully agree with the MPs that LG should be thoroughly scrutinized and also supervised by the MPs. Otherwise, the half-educated village politicians of Upazilla will indulge in rampant corruption of the fund allocated to them. Anwarul Iqbal and Fakruddin devised a parallel counter-current mechanism to create rift between the MPs and Upazilla members to strengthen the hands of anti-democratic fascist forces. They had never thought that AL will win such a huge mandate. People were clever enough to gauge the evil design and awarded a massive victory to Awami league to foil the conspiracy of Fakruddin and gang.
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hmm talk about biting the hands that feed you. BAL chalas like Kishan majoor is one of those hypocrates still belivinng that BAL would have won the two third majority without the massive rigging adminstered by Fakruddin.
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hi ferdous : kudos for your excellent response also veritably said about our f.m’s brinkmanship of not even reacting then & there or even now!!! bereft of any diplomatic decorum this m zia ispahani, to so nakedly & callously flouting diplomatic norms requires a robust response.
this guy must be reminded that, we are now a sovereign entity having born thru the fire storm war of liberation of 1971 and not a free gift!!!
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hi syj & ferdous,
salute to your timely response pertaining to mirza z ispahani’s flouting diplomatic norms. what about our guys in the e-media i.e. our tv channels reporters when mirza z ispahani gave such an impudent reply, doesn’t it devolve on them not to let go such naked abuse of diplomatic norms???
lets hope in future our guys will give a befitting reply to such; audacious, callous, arrogant & naked violations of diplomatic norms to those who ever dare to indulge in such aberrations. eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, it NOT only devolves on the army every citizen must also prove his/her salt in such circumstances!!!
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I think Dipu Moni has done the right thing. There is no reason to pick up fight with Pakistanis when their cooperation may require for investigations. And Zia Ispahani was speaking about Pakistani War criminals. Besides, here is is Dipu Moni’s reaction…
http://www.prothom-alo.com/mcat.news.details.php?nid=MTQxOTM3&mid=Mg==
http://www.prothom-alo.com/mcat.news.details.php?nid=MTQxOTU4&mid=NQ==
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Since The Awami League led Bangladesh to independence I am sure it is the only party that can deliver for people.
It has a historic mandate. People have overwhelmingly voted for the BOAT. Images and stories of five years of state sponsored terrorism, unrestrained shameless corruption and excesses by Zia’s two illiterate rogue sons and friends instilled fear in the minds of common masses. On DEC 29, 2009, they were determined not to make another FATAL mistake to bring in the devil to power again.
The following should be top priorities of the popularly elected government:
1. TRY THE WAR CRIMINALS OF 1971. Try Nizami, Mujaheed, Kamruzzaman and Amini immediately.
I am happy to see that killers of 1971 will no longer fly my national colors anymore.
2. TAKE STERN ACTION AGAINST INFILTRATORS INSIDE CHATTRA LEAGUE TRYING TO DAMAGE AWAMI LEAGUE’S IMAGE AT THE INSTRUCTION OF UNSEEN HANDS.
3. ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION IRRESPECTIVE OF PARTY AFFILIATION.
4. CLEAN THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINALS AND THUGS OF BNP-JAMAAT ALLIANCE. THESE SABOTEURS ARE STILL ACTIVE.
5. STRICTLY ENFORCE RULE OF LAW
Awami League can do it as it has more than absolute absolute majority in the parliament. People will have high expectations since almost everybody voted for the Awami League this time. It was like 1970 resurrected!
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BNP lost because of several factors. Even today we see many newly elected MPs distancing themselves from old-timers whom they blame for BNP’s downfall. BNP is now in a quagmire There’s no easy way out. The party is deeply divided. Criminals were promoted by Tarek which have angered the newly elected BNP MPs. They are also strongly against Khaleda Zia’s strong liking for war criminals like Motiur R Nizami and Mujahid. The new MPs are openly voicing their discontent with Khaleda Zia’s handling of the party in the past.
BNP was rejected by people because of Tareq Zia and their alliance with Jamaat. Khaleda’s sons were the main cause.
I demand that we get to know where have those crooks amassed wealth looted.
What was in those 400 suitcases taken out of the country by Khaleda and her family? I think even Marcos didn’t steal the way Zia and her sons looted the country. There should also be thorough investigations into arms haul at Chittagong, assassination attempts on Hasina and Jamaat-BNP sponsored terrorism.
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Arif : your perspective is noted with care. nevertheless i take exception for writing “when their cooperation we may require” can you give one instance of these rude,crude, pakis ever extending such cooperation free of cost???
the american got it bcoz they were made to pay for it. for months together with ample indiscriminating dossiers a super power like india was made to run from pillar to post. its only due to the; carrot, stick and relentless drone bombings that, pakis relented & india got what she got thru the americans. this guy m z ispahani apparently is a businessman sent as special envoy by another businessman – NOTORIOUSLY RENOWNED Mr. 25% – so bereft of any diplomatic background
he will invariably on the look out for his pound of flesh mission!!!
lets do hv a variety of perspectives which is the spice of life!!!
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Referring Pakistanis as “Pakis” is not very nice. It surely does not spice up our sense of diversity.
Mr. Ispahani can be anything. But he came in Bangladesh as a special envoy. It is natural that he will receive every diplomatic protocol.
We do not have the military power to force anyone to do anything. Surely, it leaves us with only one option. Diplomacy. If we need any help from the government of Pakistan then we may get it through various channels of diplomacy. Engaging in unnecessary conflict is pointless.
But that does not mean that we should not protest. Civil Society, Media, and bloggers should criticise this man. But the GOB should not engage in a pointless fight with Islamabad. I stand by Dipu Moni. She has done the right thing.
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Arif : well said & this envoy also must learn 1st not to trample on the rights of a sovereign country by interfereing in our internal affairs by saying what to do & wht not to do.
so what if india had the military power & so what if the americans also do hv??? its giving lucre that, yielded the right to drone bomb pakistan & that too relentlessly!!! this lucre is one of the bottom line & we bloggers are another who will exercise our rights to the hilt regardless, of whether its nice & soft like a poodle or buddy get my point???
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He should. But Dipu Moni did the right thing. lol
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Mr. Arif : tnx for yr feedback nice to know that you agree that m z ispahani shud know never,ever to interfere in internal affairs.
insofar as the other claim, today’s – 19/2/09- newspaper 1st pg amadershomoy wherein, questions/answers of m z ispahani crystal clearly states m z ispahani, i quote “haven’t discussed abt war criminal trials” un-quote so, dear Airf at this moment how right things were supposed to have been done – in a vacuum???
hv a great weekend!!!
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Mr. Arif : tnx for yr feedback nice to know that you agree that m z ispahani shud know never,ever to interfere in internal affairs.
insofar as the other claim, today’s – 19/2/09- newspaper 1st pg amadershomoy wherein, questions/answers of m z ispahani crystal clearly states m z ispahani, i quote “haven’t discussed abt war criminal trials” un-quote so, dear Airf at this moment how right things were supposed to have been done – in a vacuum???
hv a great weekend!!!
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Arif, thanks for your comments. You actually make a very good point. If we want to see the trial of war criminals through we have to play it very cool and not lose our head, otherwise Pakistan and Kingdom of Soudi will try to spoil it and they have more influence internattionally than us. I withdraw my previous argument that Dipu Moni should have protested and agree with your argument. Her cool stand was right.
I also agree with others about Chatra League. They are the biggest threat to AL now. The beast needs to be fully controled. The more vandalism they do the more the government will be tempted then to use RAB and strong force. So we will have human rights problems and killings and everything. NIP IT IN THE BUD NOW.
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I am very happy to see that both the AL and BNP joined the parliament today and converted the parliament into a lively center of debate. This is indeed a positive development.
Both the parties realized the need to unite and prevent repeat of unconstitutional acts like Fakruddin-Mooen mutant form of sick governance in future. We were stunned to hear apalling stories of gross violation of human rights by Fakruddin and Moeen. Both of them should be prosecuted and discharged with dishonour in case of Moeen and stripped of priviledges in case of traitor Fakruddin. Fakruddin and Moeen should be charged for high treason and betrayal.
I agree with Ferdous. Student politics had no whatsoever role in AL’s victory. I fully agree with the PM about her harsh stance against Chatra League. Its time student politics is given a healthy look and students be barred from political patronage by major political parties. Theyshould be forced into voluntary activities to help the poor. They must not be allowed to interfere in national politics and profiteering by winning public works contracts.
Hasina should also be careful about the negative impact of controversial elements like Joynal Hazari and Shamim Osman on AL’s respectable standing following the 2008 elections. They must not be allowed to tarnish AL’s image.
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