BNP on Saturday accused the government of trying to give legitimacy to all the human rights violators by including Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed in Bangladesh’s delegation to join the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit in New York.
Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also alleged that the government’s “irresponsible” and “arrogant” behaviour is putting the country’s international relations at risk.
“The ‘illegal’ Awami League government has tried to give legitimacy to all the human rights violators by including Benazir Ahmed, one of those who gave the order for committing terrible human rights violation activities like enforced disappearances, murders and extrajudicial killings against opposition leaders and activists, in the list (of the UN delegation members),” the BNP leader said.
The IGP has been named in the Bangladesh delegation for the two-day Police Summit scheduled to begin on August 31 despite the US sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and its seven current and former officials, including Benazir, for “gross human rights violations” by “indulging in enforced disappearances, murders and extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh,” he added.
The BNP leader said the government has demonstrated that it would continue its atrocities against humanity, ignoring the international community, by including an internationally identified “criminal” as a representative of its delegation for the UN summit.
The government itself has to take the responsibility for this irresponsible, fascist and imprudent decision, he added.
“Confusion has arisen among the public as the US granted a conditional visa to IGP Benazir Ahmed to attend the summit. The Bangladesh government deliberately tarnished the image of the country by providing such a delegation list to the UN,” the BNP leader said.
The IGP cannot join any other activity except for the specific UN summit as the US issued a conditional visa, he added. “We think that issuing visas, subject to such conditions, is an insult to Bangladesh.”
Benazir reportedly received the US visa on Thursday to join the summit as one of the six members of the Bangladesh delegation, led by Home Minister Asaduzzam Khan. The delegation is scheduled to leave Dhaka for the USA on Sunday night.
The UNCOPS 2022 will bring together ministers, chiefs of police, and senior representatives of regional and professional policing organisations at the UN Headquarters.
In December last year, the US imposed sanctions on seven former and current officials, including Benazir, of Rab on charge of grave human rights violations. Benazir served as the director general of Rab before becoming the country’s police chief.
Fakhrul alleged that many leaders and activists of their party were made to disappear, killed in crossfire, arrested and tortured without trial.
“There is no democratic atmosphere in the country now. There is no right to hold political meetings. The media has been forced to exercise self-censorship,” he said.
About their ongoing movement across the country from August 22 in protest against the increase in the prices of fuel and daily necessities and power outage, Fakhrul said their party leaders and activists were attacked in more than 50 places and 300 of them were injured.
Police arrested over 200 BNP leaders and activists while around 2,000 others were accused in different political cases, he added.
Asked whether BNP will back off from the movement in face of attacks and obstacles, Fakhrul said, “There is no reason to do so. We started the movement with the goal to remove this terrible, monstrous regime and establish a democratic system.”
“We think the victory of the people is inevitable in the path of truth and justice.”
Source: United News of Bangladesh