UNB, Dhaka

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Sunday suggested that the state structure must be overhauled to ensure human rights, justice and good governance.

TIB placed an 11-point demand from a series of simultaneous human chains formed in Dhaka and 45 locations across the country on Sunday, said a press release.

It said the students’ movement has been the subject of severe and massive violations of human rights, characterised by indiscriminate and multi-dimensional cruel actions at multiple levels.

The indiscriminate misuse of power by law enforcement agencies and relevant state institutions, the overall lack of good governance, and a governance system that is blinded by the arrogance of power, detached from public interest, devoid of transparency and accountability, and plagued by endless corruption are the primary factors behind this mayhem, said the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International.

In this context, the members of the staff and volunteer groups associated with Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) placed the 11-point demand.

These demands must be accepted without delay and a specific and time-bound roadmap must be developed and executed for implementation, they said.

THE DEMANDS ARE —

1. Ensure proper accountability for human rights violations of all types and levels based on a nationally and internationally acceptable investigation to be conducted by an entirely independent commission established and implemented at the initiative of the United Nations.
2. As a means to prevent any such human rights violations in the future, the entire state structure must be overhauled including all institutions associated with the rule of law, particularly the law enforcement and intelligence agencies through an initiative grounded on national consensus.
3. Law enforcement agencies must immediately stop harassment and brutality directed toward students and ordinary citizens. All detained students and ordinary citizens must be unconditionally released immediately, and all cases against them should be withdrawn.
4. All those responsible for the tragic deaths, illegal, arbitrary and motivated abuse of power, and the use of force and lethal weapons, must be identified and held accountable. Those responsible for ordering and approving this unprecedented brutality, which betrayed the spirit and aspirations of the Liberation War of Bangladesh, must likewise be subjected to exemplary accountability.
5. In this unprecedentedly tragic juncture of the nation’s history, a comprehensive list of all the deceased and injured, categorised by age and occupation, must be released without delay.
6. Full medical treatment and safety of the injured must be ensured, along with guarantees of their return to normal lives.
7. Just and fair compensation and rehabilitation must be ensured for each victim and their families, and the rehabilitation procedure must be disclosed to the public.
8. An environment must be created that is conducive to the free and unfettered flow of information. All direct and indirect threats, prohibitions, restrictions and controls against all media, including print, electronic, and digital, must be withdrawn without delay. All forms of internet and social media restrictions must be stopped immediately.
9. The deceptive strategy of suppressing dissent under the pretext of preventing violence or any other justification must be stopped immediately. The culture of surveillance-based intimidation against dissent, freedom of speech, and freedom of the media, which has created a nationwide sense of insecurity for all people, must be stopped.
10. Immediately stop the practice of using fake and deceptive narratives and falsehoods to justify illegal actions and ensure human rights, justice and accountable governance.
11. Move away from the rhetorical claims of zero tolerance against corruption and take effective actions to eradicate the impunity of all forms of corruption, particularly at high levels which is the main reason behind sustained governance failure and professional bankruptcy of state institutions that have contributed to the unprecedented human rights violations.

TIB said the entirely peaceful, non-violent and apolitical anti-discrimination student movement has been subjected to imposed violence, leading to an unprecedentedly tragic loss of hundreds of lives and a reign of terror over the past two weeks.

This has been characterised by a series of cruel killings by unlawful use of lethal weapons and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement agencies, arbitrary filing of cases, indiscriminate attacks, mass arrests through block raids, illegal remand, detainment, and torture in detention by the Detective Branch (DB) under the pretence of providing security, unjust warrants, online and offline threats, and systematic violation of constitutionally guaranteed human rights including freedom of speech, right to protest and freedom of association, it said.

False narratives and fabrications have been used to legitimise these illegal activities which continue unabated, thereby obstructing any scope of resolution of the crisis, escalating public concerns, a sense of insecurity and mistrust, it added.

According to independent assessments, at least 200 students and ordinary individuals, including children, teenagers, journalists, and other professionals, have been killed by law enforcement agencies, TIB noted.

The fatalities occurred due to the unlawful, random and indiscriminate abuse of power and the excessive and disproportionate use of lethal weapons by law enforcement agencies, as per credible evidence, it claimed.

At least 213,000 individuals have been implicated in more than 200 cases in the police stations of the capital alone, according to TIB.

Disregarding all ethical considerations, students and individuals from a diverse range of professions and classes have been apprehended, abducted, and falsely accused, detained even in the middle of the night unleashing terror, even though there is obvious evidence of their lack of involvement in any violence or illegal activities, it added.

During remand, numerous individuals are reportedly being subjected to physical and mental torture, according to TIB.