Shuchinta

Reposted from E-Bangladesh:

[In his second round of interview with Tasneem Khalil, M Sanjeeb Hossain, son of detained DU Professor Anwar Hossain, detailed what his father told him about the DGFI “black hole,” his torture and what happened in the court. Considering its significance, this pod was recorded both in English and Bangla.]

Click HERE to listen to the interview.

While reporting the military crackdown on university students and teachers in Bangladesh, in one of our earlier pods, we quoted our sources close to the military headquarters in Dhaka who confirmed to us that detained DU professors “Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid are right now in the custody of DGFI, the military intelligence agency. They are detained in a torture-cum-detention facility inside the DGFI headquarters in Dhaka cantonment,” with a note saying, “We are not able to verify this from an official or independent source.”

The current Bangladesh government should enter into a dialogue with the parties, student leaders and lawyers, on restoring civil rights and the independence of the courts.

We repeat the call made five months ago by the Commonwealth Secretary General to the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to lift the state of emergency and restore basic human and political rights to all citizens.

Since then, there has been significant erosion of popular support. The recent outbreak of protests and violence indicates the volatility and uncertainty of a situation in which the government and their military backers are pitted against large sections of civil society and the political parties. The indefinite curfew may have produced a temporary lull, but over the medium term may serve to fuel the resentment of the students and their supporters.

[Read the full text of Lord Avebury Statement Aug 25 2007.]

What sparked these protests is the ongoing repression of emergency rule, and the government’s heavy-handed response is like oil on a fire. Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch.

Students Angry After Eight Months of Emergency Rule

(New York, August 25, 2007) – The Bangladesh government must respect international human rights standards as it enforces a curfew and seeks to police demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch reiterated that anyone detained under the emergency regulations must be charged with a cognizable criminal offense or released, and that anyone mistreated in detention should be able to seek and obtain an effective remedy before competent authorities.

The demonstrations currently taking place in Bangladesh come after eight months of repressive emergency rule, which has restricted the rights to protest and to seek a legal remedy, and fails to respect basic due process rights.”What sparked these protests is the ongoing repression of emergency rule, and the government’s heavy-handed response is like oil on a fire,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “While the protesters should remain peaceful and must exercise restraint to prevent loss to life and property, the government should immediately address some of their legitimate concerns instead of arbitrarily arresting people, beating detainees and fueling anger.”

[Read the full text of the Human Rights Watch news HERE.]

Source: Shahidul Alam’s Blog