The people will fight on
In total defiance of the joint statement issued on December 6 of the 15 foreign missions in Bangladesh, urging the government to hold “free expression, peaceful assembly, and elections”, the police of the authoritarian government of Bangladesh attacked peaceful demonstrators with batons, burst teargas shells and fired bullets at them at Naya Paltan in Dhaka on December 7. It is also noteworthy that also on December 7, the United Nations issued a press statement reminding Bangladesh that as a UN member state, it has committed to “free expression, media freedom and peaceful assembly”.
During the police brutality in Naya Paltan, 2 demonstrators were killed and more than 50 were injured, many by bullets. Many have been arrested, including BNP leaders Rizvi, Salam, Aman, Khokon, Annie, and Shimul Biswas, among others. This is done by a brutal police force under orders from an authoritarian, oppressive and unelected government which defies the world in its cold-blooded killings and most brutal tyranny.
The people of Bangladesh have been flooding the rallies of the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) overcoming all the attacks, arrests and hindrances launched by the ruling Awami League government. The people are appealing to the opposition to save them and to save the country from the clutches of the autocratic regime headed by Sheikh Hasina. Bangladeshis are motivated to fight on and chase this regime out until it is replaced by a patriotic and democratic government.
The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) expresses deep concerns over the unprovoked police attacks on the leaders and workers of the BNP, and deems that the constitutional rights of citizens, such as the right of peaceful assembly, are being stripped by these attacks.
CHRD Bangladesh believes that the law enforcement agencies and government officials have initiated the unleashing of violence in order to prevent the December 10 mass rally of the opposition in the capital.
The actions of the government of Bangladesh violate the country’s constitution and the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
CHRD Bangladesh welcomes the joint statement by 15 countries including the United States, the EU countries, the UK, Japan, etc. and the United Nations in support of democracy, human rights, the right of peaceful assembly and the rights of the opposition parties of Bangladesh to hold public rallies as a part of a healthy, democratic process.
*CHRD Bangladesh is a nonprofit organization based and registered in the United States.
December 9, 2022
