Worry taking over joy and hope in Bangladesh, says APPG report

 
The 'great joy and hope' that followed the ouster of the Awami League government in Bangladesh has been taken over by worries brewing from political instability and lack of law and order, according to a report by the UK-based Commonwealth All-Party Parliamentary Group-APPG.

In a report based on individual and institutional witnesses describing more than 2,000 incidents of violence, the APPG warned British Foreign Secretary David Lammy of the situation in Bangladesh, bdnews24 reports.

Notwithstanding considerable progress on economic and social fronts, the Awami League government was characterised by sycophancy, corruption and a dismal human rights record, the report said.

"Our inquiry heard there was a lack of faith in public institutions, democracy and in a free media. However, we have also received evidence that raises questions about the efficacy of the new interim regime. There is an urgent need to end the culture of using the law as a political weapon, and that human rights and the rule of law need to be upheld. A failure to do this will not reflect well on the new interim regime of Professor Muhammad Yunus."

The politicisation of the legal system in Bangladesh is 'nothing new,' the report said, adding Yunus himself was sentenced to six months in jail after being accused of violating the country's labour laws in January 2024 under the Awami League's rule.

"However, our inquiry heard a fundamental change has been the scale and the severity of the charges brought against individuals from and supporters of the Awami League Government." It would be expected to see corruption charges brought forward, but the sheer number of murder charges made raise some serious questions relating to process," the APPG report said.

According to the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), an independent think tank, over 194,000 persons belonging to the Awami League have been arraigned in criminal cases. There were 26,268 people named and around 168,000 unnamed persons were accused in about 268 cases, the report said.
"They told us that since then the filing of cases continued and it has become the trend in Bangladesh to be filing cases against hundreds of unnamed persons in one complaint to persecute the political opponents."

For the last few decades, journalism has been 'highly politicised,' the APPG said in its report. "We have been told that as of 22 October, at least 54 journalists perceived as supporters of the previous government led by Sheikh Hasina were charged for various offences including for genocide and crimes against humanity, while at least six journalists remained in detention in Bangladesh. The crackdown on press freedom has been widely condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)."

The report said that of all the written evidence their inquiry received, by far the most concerning was the security situation and the rule of law. The initial student protests, their evolution into a wider movement, and its transformation into a mass movement that brought down the government was well-covered by international media.

However, it added that: "Our inquiry received a great deal of personal evidence containing images following properties that have were looted, arson attacks and violence against individuals."

Mentioning the attacks on the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, shrines and mob lynching at Dhaka University, the report said that incidents of mob lynching had spiked with 21 people beaten to death in 38 days.

Citing the Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF), APPG wrote that five people were killed in September and 619 people were injured in political attacks. There were 53 incidents of mob lynching and 12 shrine attack incidents. At least six extrajudicial killings occurred as of Sept 16.

The RRAG told APPG that by Sept 5, a total of 5,818 weapons were looted in the country. As many as 3,933 of those were recovered while 1,885 arms, including rifles, SMGs, LMGs, and pistols, remained missing.

The APPG said they heard in oral evidence from the Bangladesh Hindu Association in the UK, and in written evidence from members of the Hindu community living in Bangladesh. They also heard from respondents detailing the experiences of Christian and Buddhist communities in Bangladesh and the indigenous communities.

The report said that 2,010 communal attacks took place from Aug 4 to Aug 20 in Bangladesh. These include nine murders, four rapes, 69 incidents of vandalism and arson attacks on temples and 915 incidents of vandalism, looting and arson attacks on households. The highest number of communal attacks took place in Khulna, with four women raped, including a speech-impaired woman.

In a piece of written evidence received by the APPG, Kajal Devnath, vice president of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddha Unity Council stated: "Anything can happen at any moment because there is no law and order. There is no place to complain. If they kill me, if they burn my house, there is no one I can complain to.

The Global Association for Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (GAIPC) presented evidence of 75 Indigenous people who sustained injuries during the attacks by illegal plains settlers at Dighinala, Khagrachari and Rangamati on Sept 19 and Sept 20 and an attack in Khagrachhari on Oct 1 2024. Furthermore, about 142 houses, shops and other business establishments, properties and Buddhist temples of indigenous people were set ablaze, destroyed and looted by the plain settlers.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been warned that the UK could be pulled into another global flashpoint over the rapidly destabilising situation in Bangladesh, reports the British news outlet Independent.

Besides being a Commonwealth member, Bangladesh is a crucial trading and security partner for many other Commonwealth countries, the APPG said. Also, there was a significant Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK, which pushed them to investigate the situation in Bangladesh.

The report, based on written and oral evidence, and newspaper reports, aimed to inform the British policymakers about the current situation in Bangladesh and make international stakeholders aware of the current situation.

The APPG report will be a step in their efforts to raise awareness of issues affecting important Commonwealth partners, said Andrew Rosindell MP, chair of the Commonwealth All-Party Parliamentary Group.

"The findings will be shared with the governments, charities, and other stakeholders involved with Bangladesh and the Commonwealth. It is hoped that these issues are heard within Westminster and Whitehall, and this report helps to inform parliamentarians and decision makers."