The Daily Star, 2006
Justice, Bangladesh style
In an in-depth investigative report, Tasneem Khalil uncovers the shocking truth about RAB operations that have tortured and killed more than 900 to dateAhmedul Haq Chowdhury Ahmudya was one of the most feared Jamaat-e-Islam cadres in Chitagong. For him, leaving the party and joining the BNP with 1,000 Jamaat members on July, 2004 signed his death warrant. On September 10, 2004, Ahmudya and his deputy, Minhaz, died in "crossfire" in Satkania, Chitagong.
"Jamaat is a one-way ticket, you may join but never leave," award-winning investigative reporter Sumi Khan, best known for her fearless reporting on Jamaat and Islamic militancy in Chittagong, told me. Sumi believed herself to be somewhat responsible for Ahmudya's death: he had given her an exclusive interview that disclosed the name of his godfather, Jamaat MP Shahjahan Chowdhury. "By disclosing sensitive information about Shahjahan Chowdhury and Jamaat's terror network in Chittagong, Ahmudya invited death," Sumi told me. "It is very interesting, how BNP and AL cadres get killed in crossfire while Jamaat cadres roam around free." According to one of Sumi's sources, Jamaat bribed a top RAB official 10 lakh taka to get rid of Ahmudya.
In August, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appealed to Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations, to expel Bangladeshi peacekeepers from UN peacekeeping missions until the Bangladesh government disbands RAB.
"We intend to begin a campaign on the role of Bangladesh in UN peacekeeping operations vis-a-vis atrocities committed by its security personnel at home, notably the RAB, until such a time as the RAB is disbanded and conditions in the country enable effective redress for victims of abuses there," read the AHRC appeal.
International pressure on Bangladesh to bring an end to extra-judicial executions has been mounting in the past few months. Back home, human rights advocates and the media are fiercely critical of the regime of terror the state has unleashed on its populace, but, to their chagrin, RAB to this day patrols the streets of Bangladesh with unchallenged and unabated impunity. We are yet to see a single case where a RAB member has faced trial for his involvement in extra-judicial murders, though time and again the government promised justice for any human rights violations by RAB.
More than 900 are dead, and their families still waiting for a proper investigation of their murders. Awaiting justice where the state itself has turned into a monster -- life, liberty, and fundamental human rights became the first casualties of "crossfire." To quote Jahanara Begum Rubi, sister of the slain BCL leader Mohimuddin: "I am still waiting for the answer that I never received."
Photos: Star
Tasneem Khalil is a writer and editor, Forum. For more information on his investigation, please go to: www.tasneemkhalil.com
http://archive.thedailystar.net/forum/2006/december/justice.htm
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18309.htm
