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The US Sanctions Against
Bangladesh Law Enforcing Officials
The Coalition for Human Rights and
Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) has the honor to gratefully
acknowledge and express happiness at the recent US punitive action against a
few officials of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) of Bangladesh for their
involvement in gross human rights violations. The CHRD Bangladesh also
appreciates the visa restriction against the corrupt former army chief General
Aziz Ahmad.
Earlier, the CHRD Bangladesh issued a
statement hailing the US actions on the occasion of the International Human
Rights Day on December 10, 2021. (Human Rights Groups Greatly Appreciate The US Sanctions On RAB |
ChrdBangladesh).
The statement quoted Phil Roberstson of the Human Rights Watch (HRW), who said on the
US sanction, “RAB deserved
to be sanctioned
years ago because it has been a de facto death squad, operating with impunity
for years in Bangladesh”.
HRW also gave a sample of RAB crimes
committed between 2009 and September 2021, as reported by the Odhikar, a Bangladeshi rights organization.
According to Odhikar, RAB extrajudicially
killed at least 1,255 people, and was a major perpetrator of enforced disappearance
of more than 600 people, most of whom were either found dead or still
missing.
While this is a right step in keeping with
the agenda of President Joe Biden in his foreign policy objectives, the CHRD
Bangladesh and most other human rights and democracy organizations feel it is
too little. The persons identified are definitely in the loop of the vicious
circle that routinely perpetrate abuses, they are only
the tip of the iceberg. They did not act alone; nor do they now.
They are part of the command channel that starts from the top, the Prime
Minister. In fact, a common term used for the Bangladesh Prime Minister is the
“Mother of Mafia.”
The Qatar based Al Jazeera
made an investigative report on the criminal and corruption activities of Sheikh
Hasina and her army chief General Aziz Ahmed. Titled
“All the Prime Minister’s Men”, the first installment of the report can be seen
in these links:
https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2021/2/5/all-the-prime-ministers-men
All the Prime
Minister’s Men | Al Jazeera Investigations
For the US actions to be even effective and
deterrent, people in the chain of command should also need to be taken to task.
If the command channel is left untouched, its viciousness is expected not only
to continue but also to grow in vengeance. The nation and the people will
continue to suffer with increased intensity. This limited, small-scale action
may even lead to further suffering to the people, rendering the US action
counterproductive.
It is, therefore, felt that the scope of
the sanctions be widened to root out the source, the Prime Minister, and the
entire paraphernalia in the chain of crime.
Sincerely,
Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy in
Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh), a US based non-profit organization with global
membership.
December 22, 2021