Alert

Statement made by the Sromik Nirapotta Forum (the Workers' Safety Forum)a coalition of 12 women's, workers, environment and human rights organizations at the Dhaka Press Club on 17 April, 2005.

Friends from the print and electronic media,

Thank you for attending this press conference, called by the Sromik Nirapotta Forum (Worker's Safety Forum).

The building housing the Spectrum Sweater Industries Ltd in Palashbari, Savar collapsed a week ago. According to information available from the media, until today, 60 dead bodies have been recovered, and 108 persons escaped alive of whom seven have died subsequently. We do not have the exact estimate of the number of workers who are still trapped inside. But from the circumstances we apprehend that all those who remain trapped inside are now dead. This might be the worst instance of man-made disaster in the history of Bangladesh. Although after the accident, the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Industries have visited the site of the disaster and expressed their sympathy and condolence for the dead, wounded and bereaved families , it remains the case that this fatal accident that has claimed so many lives is yet to be seen as a grave criminal offence. We feel angry and frustrated that the concerned authority has yet to determine the exact number of workers who have died, been injured or gone missing. It is to be noted that the owner of factory is also absconding.

The law enforcing agencies have been given draconian powers which are often abused to harass and arrest the poor on the basis of suspicion whereas it seems that the same machinery is unable to bring to justice the rich and powerful. Indeed, the Minister for Labour has yet to visit the site of accident. The stark reality is that nobody has felt the urge to hold the owner criminally liable for his negligence to protect and ensure the safety, security and rights of the workers. We would like to ask what would have been the state's response in the event that industrialists and the rich were caught in similar circumstances. It is unfortunate that the rescue operation has been progressing at a snail's pace due to the lack of necessary equipment.

Dear friends,

We have assembled here today with anger and sadness because over the years a section of the rich have become richer at the cost of exploiting poor workers without ensuring their safety or security or giving them their just dues. We would not have been so concerned if certain unscrupulous businessmen, who claim to be industrialists had not been so indifferent to the frequent recurrence of fatal accidents claiming the lives of poor workers.

The collapse of the Spectrum Industries Ltd building is not an isolated incident. Prior to this, a series of fires in garment factories, launch capsizes, and road accidents have claimed hundreds of lives and left many others disabled or helpless. In these circumstances, both the owners and the concerned government regulatory agencies have evaded their responsibilities. Our society has let the victims of such disasters drown in the river waters, or be crushed under the rubble and has done little or nothing to ensure that safety regulations are enforced. Indeed, if Bangladesh lacks adequate technological or managerial skills to prevent such incidents, it should seek cooperation from others so ase to mitigate such disasters.

We would like to ask in whose interest the wealth of the state is distributed and for whom policies and budget allocations are made? Why is the state budget exhausted in purchasing bullet-proof cars for elected public representatives, helicopters, fighter planes and armoured cars, when only limited allocations are channeled towards safety measures to prevent damage from earth quakes, launch, train and bus disasters that claim hundreds and thousands of lives?
In the rescue operations at the site of the factory owned by Spectrum Industries Ltd over the last three days, why has the Government failed to seek the assistance of Red Crescent and other international organizations in facilitating the rescue? The fact that the rescue operation team was not provided with the structural plan of the building by the factory owner or the permission giving authority is also a glaring testimony of criminal negligence.

Despite the public outcry and media attention over a spate of fatal accidents the country has yet to witness impartial independent and adequate investigations, or effective prosecutions to ensure justice or compensation for the victims and their families. It appears as if the loss of life of poor workers is perceived as nothing more than an unfortunate mishap for which neither the employer nor Government nor society is held accountable or responsible. We know from our bitter experience that remedies are seldom available in the event of human rights breaches committed by influential and vested interests groups.

We call upon every conscientious member of our society to seek justice for such heinous crimes. To this end we will appeal to the Prime Minister for immediate and necessary steps to ensure that the perpetrators of this slaughter of workers are brought to justice. The government and BGMEA will also need to attend to the long term medical needs of those rescued workers who have lost their limbs, We will also appeal to all political parties to make workers' safety and security their primary agenda? We would also like to know what steps have been taken by the Ministry of Labour to ensure regular inspection of factories which has been a recurrent demand of the workers. The condition of the families of the dead and injured is a matter of grave concern, as they sit out all day in the sun waiting for the rescue of their relatives. What steps have been taken by the government or the BGMEA to provide physical and psychological support to them?

Let us all make sure that the collapse of the factory building owned by Spectrum Industries Ltd. is not perceived as a mere accident, but is instead seen for what it is -- an act of gross criminal negligence for which the factory owner as well as the concerned regulatory agencies should be held criminally liable.

In this context, we demand that:

1. The collapse of Spectrum Industries Ltd be identified as an instance of gross criminal negligence.
2. The owner of the Spectrum Sweater Industries be prosecuted.
3. On site investigation teams include representatives from human rights, women rights, workers rights groups and legal aid and environmental organizations for facilitating an impartial and fair investigation.
4. The structural design and building plan which had been submitted to the Savar Cantonment Board be made public.
5. Reports submitted by Chief Inspector of Factories on the status of the Spectrum Industries Ltd. and its collapse be made public.
6. A comprehensive list of injured, dead or missing workers from the night shift as well as those employed in the day shift be made public.
7. The attendance keeper at the factory be asked to provide all records relating to attendance cards on the date of the accident.
8. Legal action be taken against others buildings constructed without complying with relevant laws and regulations.
9. Compensation for the victims and their families be given as stipulated under Fatal Accident Act 1955.
10. Fire-escapes be compulsory for every factory and high rise building.
11. Proper and effective mechanisms be set up for the inspection of factories in compliance with the Factory Act 1965 Factory Rules and Regulations 1979 and related Regulations .
12. List of factory owners who fail to comply with the Factory Act and Rules be made public.
13. A national mourning day be announced for death of the workers of Spectrum Industries Ltd. and flags be flown at half mast to mark their loss.

Members of the Sromik Nirapotta Forum
1) Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 26/3 Purana Paltan Line, Dhaka 1000
2) Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Road 3, House 15A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
3) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), 141/1 Segun Bagicha, Dhaka
4) Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR), 135 Monipura, Farmgate, Dhaka
5) Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA), Road No 60 A, Road 27, Dhanmandi, Dhaka.
6) Jatiyo Nari Jote, 35/36, Banghabandhu Avenue, Dhaka-1000
7) Karmojibi Nari, 3/6 Segun Bagicha, Dhaka
8) Nijera Kori, 7/8 Block C Lalmatia, Dhaka.
9) ODHIKAR, of Road 117, House 35, Gulshan, Dhaka.
10) Shommilito Samajik Andolon, 64/1 Siddeswari, Dhaka
11) Shommilito Nari Somaj, Secretariat 3/6, Segun Bagicha, Dhaka-1000
12) UBINIG, 5/3 Babar Road, Dhaka.

URGENT ACTION
Torture, Custodial Deaths, Extra Judicial Killings by RAB : Rule of Law Hampered

The activities of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a special action force in Bangladesh, has in recent times attracted widespread public attention for obvious reasons. The number of custodial deaths has increased in an alarming rate since the government deployed RAB in the name of combating crime. To date, a total of 30 persons (including a child) were reportedly killed under RAB custody since they started operations. The death of these people under the custody of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is totally unacceptable, in total disregard of due process and rule of law. Not a single person killed or tortured in RAB custody got the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law. None should die under police or any other special law enforcing agency's custody. These forces exist maintain law and order, not to dismantle it. Irrespective of the identity or gravity of offense of the alleged accused who is in their custody, no law enforcer can ever cause harm or death to anybody.

According to newspaper reports, some victims killed under the RAB custody were identified as Debashish Kumar Das (32) of Badda, Shajahan Bepari (25) of Johuri Mahalla in Mohammadpur, Jumman Khan (26) and Minar Hossain (25) two alleged criminals of Kushtia, Mohammad Ali (65) a deed writer of Jafarabad in Rayerbazar area, Sumon Ahmed Majumdar (25) of Morkun, Tongi an Awami League activist and the witness of Ahsanullah Master Murder case, Anawar Islam Ranju (40) of Chachea, Kushtia, a BNP activist, Shahnewaz Titu (25) of Chandpur a madrassah teacher, Hannan Sheikh alias Pichchi Hannan (40) one of the listed criminals of the country, Mahmud Hassan Manju a top terror of Jessore, Iqbal Hossain (32) assistant of Pichchi Hannan, Sahjahan Ali (25) , Babu Molla (26), Iman Sarder (26) a terrorist, Sheikh Asadujjaman of Sonadanga Khulna, Sobhan (53) and a child named Maima (5) of Sobujbag Dhaka, Shamim Molla a terrorist, Billah Hossain Billah (25) a terrorist, Ahmedul Haq Choudhuri alias Ahmudda (32) UP Chairman of Eochia ,Satkania Chittagong, Minhaj (50) accomplice of Ahmudda, Zennah (32) of Magbazar, Dhaka.

RAB was launched as a special elite force as part of the government's new anti-crime initiative to clamp down on criminals and crime. It was raised through a government order issued on 1 March this year in accordance with the Armed Police Battalions (Amendment) Act, 2003 and went into operation from 21 June. It was formed including the members of the armed forces, the police, and Bangladesh Rifles and Ansars, both paramilitary groups. Currently RAB is active almost all over the country under seven administrative units of the Battalion. Recently this specialist force is gradually becoming a controversial one because of some of its recent activities. Criticism ismounting of alleged violations of the human rights of those who have died in RAB custody or are dying in rising incidents of "cross-fire" where only the alleged perpetrator nabbed by the RAB gets shot and killed, and RAB officers remain mysteriously unharmed. The number of death in custody while or after being interrogated by the RAB now stands at 39 .

Debashish Kumar Das was nabbed by RAB from a private clinic at Savar along with the most wanted criminal, Pichchi Hannan, on 26 June. He was taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital a few hours after he was interrogated at the RAB office in Uttara. He died on way to hospital. A magistrate carried out an inquest into his death. Sources in the morgue said his body bore marks of injuries in the chest and the head.

Shahjahan Bapari, an employee of Shoe store at Rifle Square, was arrested by RAB with two firearms from Dhanmondi on July 6 and died at DMCH in the morning on July 9. Hospital sources said Shahjahan was admitted on Wednesday evening with injuries in his hands and legs. A RAB official said that they had rescued the severely wounded Shahjahan from a mob that had caught him with firearms and given him a mass beating. But informed sources said that he fell sick on July 7, during interrogation, and was rushed to the DMCH.

However, the inquest report prepared by a magistrate at the DMCH mentioned that Shahjahan's arms and legs were swollen. An injury was also found in his head. On the day of the incident, the employer ordered Shahjahan to close down the godown. Suddenly the people heard gunshots and found Shahjahan along with two firearms. The RAB were informed of the incident and they picked up Shahjahan from the market. Mohammad Ali was allegedly shot dead by the RAB on July 12, in front of his daughter at his house.

A police constable was shot dead in a fierce shoot-out with dreaded criminal Galakata Mujibur and his gang members. A couple of hours after the firefight, law enforcers including RAB raided the house of deed writer Mohammad Ali and shot him and criminal Liton, 26, whom they found at Ali's house. Ali was rushed to the DMCH with bullet wounds in his ribcage, left hand and left knee, and died a few hours after admission. Police claimed that Liton and Mohammed Ali, the landlord, belonged to Mujibur's gang and died in the encounter, and that Ali did not tell police that Liton was hiding in his house. Ali's wife Aklima Begum claimed they did not know when Liton had slipped into the house. Ali's family members claimed that police killed the 65-year-old deed writer, ignoring his repeated assertions of innocence. They also added that they did not know when the 'criminal' Liton had entered Ali's house. Sonia, Ali's daughter, asked, "What can we do if a dangerous criminal takes shelter in our house? If we informed the police the criminal might have killed us and since we did not inform the police, they killed my father," she argued.

In Kushtia, three persons arrested by RAB died since the special force launched its operation in the district. On 10 July Saturday, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested Jumman Khan (26) son of Abdus Sobhan, Minar Hossain (25) son of Abdus Shahid and Anwar (30), son of Erfan Ali, at Minar's house in the town with two foreign rifles, four bullets and three other weapons. Of them, Minar died at Kushtia General Hospital on July 11. Rab officials handed over Anwar and Jumman to police soon after Minar's death. Both were undergoing treatment at the same hospital. Jumman died on 20 July at a Kushtia General Hospital 10 days after his arrest. The body was handed over to his family members in the noon after autopsy. Families of Jumman and Minar claimed that the crackdown force tortured them in a Rab camp and both died due to torture.

Anawar Islam Ranju (40), a BNP activist died at Kushtia General Hospital on 28 July Wednesday night hours after being arrested by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members. A team of RAB caught Ranju, son of Altaf Uddin of Chachea village under Sadar Upazila, with two firearms, including a cut rifle, from his house on Wednesday morning. Ranju was shifted to Kushtia General Hospital as he fell sick in the custody of RAB and he died at the hospital.

Sumon Ahmed Majumder, a Awami Juba League leader and one of the two witnesses whose statements on the lawmaker Awami League Ahsanullah Master's murder case were recorded judicially, died in police custody early Friday after being arrested by RAB on Thursday afternoon. Family members and locals alleged that Sumon was tortured to death in a bid to eliminate the witnesses of the murder case, but the police have denied the allegation. Police said RAB arrested Sumon as Tajul Islam Akhand had lodged a complaint with them. Two others - Lokman and Pinku, reported associates of Sumon - were also arrested by RAB members from Tongi station bus-stand as they were extracting tolls from an employee of Tajul on Thursday afternoon, the police claimed.

According to the Tongi police, Sumon was sick when the RAB handed him over to them at around 9:45pm on Thursday. But Sumon's condition deteriorated after midnight and the police took him to Tongi Hospital where the doctors declared him dead at around 1:15am. Physicians said Sumon bore marks of injuries on his body. A magistrate of Gazipur district court prepared the inquest report and sent the body to Gazipur hospital morgue for post-mortem in the afternoon, after which the body was handed over to the relatives in the evening and the body was buried amid tight security of police. The inquest report mentioned that there were marks of deep injury on Suman's right leg and different parts of his body.

Claiming that her son was innocent, the victim's mother Solema Begum alleged that the law enforcers arrested Sumon from her house in Morkun in good health but returned him dead. She also alleged that Sumon was not involved in criminal activities and no case has ever been filed against him. Speaking to newsmen, Lokman, arrested by RAB members on Thursday, said the law-enforcers took him, along with Sumon and Pinku, to their camp blindfolded. He also alleged, "The law enforcers tortured us severely and Sumon was repeatedly asking for water but they did not provide it in the camp." According to investigation findings of several human rights organisation, Suman died in the hospital due to torture by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

If a key witness in such a high-profile murder case cannot get protection from the state, then there is no harm to say that the law and order situation in the country is very bad. It has been widely reported in the media that criminals cannot be prosecuted by the courts because witnesses fail to appear fearing reprisals from criminals. The widely believed nexus between criminals and the state organs have once again come rather dramatically to the fore with the murder of Sumon.

Pichchi Hannan, one of the top most criminals, was killed early hours of 6 August 2004, the seventh day of his remand by RAB, alleged in crossfire between a gang and a RAB team at Diakhali, Savar. Hannan was taken into custody after being wounded in a gunfight with a RAB team on June 25. Police sources stated that during an operation to arrest the associates of Hannan, no sooner had the 20-man law enforcement team reached the criminals' meeting spot that they came under fire from gang members.

The killing of listed criminal Pichchi Hannan purportedly in a firefight between a joint Rab and Detective Branch team and members of Hannan's gang in the early hours of Friday morning, cannot but raise some questions in the public mind. The exact details of the shootout and the circumstances of his killing remain unclear. It is also unclear as to whether he was hit only in the front or also in the back, and whether or not he was shot at point blank range.

The very first question that begs an answer is, how could someone in custody die in cross-fire at all? The second is that whether Hannan was killed by accident or not, he being in RAB custody at the time of his death, it's the custodian that must take responsibility for his safety and for his fate.

While on remand, Hannan is said to have implicated important political leaders as his mentors, which suggests that there are many who stood to gain from his silencing. In addition, there can be no doubt that he was a potentially vast repository of information for law enforcement officials, and that it should have been imperative, from a law and order perspective, to see him alive to face trial. It is too soon to say whether Hannan's killing was an accident, or not. But it is fair to say that a disservice has been done to the rule of law by his life being cut short without subjecting him to the due process of law.

The last incident of death under RAB custody occurred when Shahnewaz Titu, 25, son of Abdul Latif Master of Mandari Hajibari in Chandpur, a madrassah teacher died from wounds at Chittagong Medical College Hospital on 6 August two days after his arrest by RAB in Chittagong allegedly with ten AK-47 bullets. RAB sources claimed that Shahnewaz sustained injuries while trying to escape arrest by jumping from the roof of a hotel. He was arrested with two associates while they were allegedly selling ammunitions at Agrabad area. But family sources said that he died from unspeakable torture in the custody of RAB after arrest.
.
These are some death incidents in RAB custody or during RAB action since the initiation of the squad. The increasing level of custodial death under the hands of newly formed special elite force and the corresponding indulgence of the Government, is a matter of grave concern. The nature of the deaths together with the fact necessitate that the killings be fully investigated without delay. However we are reassured to read in the press that the Director General of RAB (9 August 2004, Daily Star) has said that the police would investigate deaths in the custody of RAB and the guilty would be punished accordingly.

After arresting accused persons, the RAB members should have handed them over to the police to take follow-up action, depending upon the nature of their alleged offence, in accordance with law. But it is evident from the fact of the cases that in most of these cases, the RAB team instead of handing over the arrested persons to the police took them to their camp and kept them there for some hours in the name of interrogation where there were complaints of them being tortured by turns. After several hours of arrest, they were handed over to respective police where they felt sick and was shifted to hospital. There the doctors declared them dead. There was some justification for interrogation to know from them about their associates and other local miscreants but any death through torture is murder. No law-enforcing agent must feel he is free to kill any citizen.

Apart from these incidents of custodial death, according to the local human rights groups, concerned citizens and leading newspaper, many detainees have been sent to the hospital with severe injuries caused by beatings while in RAB custody. These serious developments have created a terrifying environment for most ordinary and innocent people. This reminds about the government launched Operation Clean Heart, an army-led anti-crime initiative that led to thousands of detentions in October 2002 following reports that over fifty people had died in police custody. Also in that period, while authorities attributed many of the deaths to heart failure, relatives of the deceased claim they were tortured.

Right to life or personal liberty under the Constitution included the right to live with human dignity. There is an inbuilt guarantee against torture or assault by the state or its functionaries. It is, therefore, difficult to comprehend how torture and custodial violence can be permitted to defy the rights flowing from the Constitution. The dehumanizing torture, assault and death in custody which have assumed alarming proportions raise serious questions about the credibility of the rule of law and administration of the criminal justice system. The society rightly gets disturbed. The cry for justice becomes louder and warrants immediate remedial measures. The vulnerability of human rights assumes a traumatic torture when functionaries of the state, whose paramount duty is to protect the citizens and not to commit gruesome offences against them, in reality perpetrate them.

The High Court in its landmark verdict in the case of BLAST, ASK & others vs Bangladesh [2003 BLD (HCD) 523] has expressed concern over the increasing number of cases of custodial violence, torture and deaths in the country posing a serious threat to human rights of citizens. The court attributed this by saying, "Torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in police custody or jail custody are not permissible under the Constitution. So, any such act is unconstitutional and unlawful."

Under international law, Bangladesh has obligations as a state party to both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. These international human rights standards require the humane treatment of persons in custody both of which are ratified by Bangladesh, notably under: Article 2 of the Convention against Torture, which states that "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether...internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture"; Article 4(1) which states that "Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law"; and, Article 13 which adds that, "Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to and to have his case promptly and impartially examined...".

Only a very few cases of this type come under the passage of justice, the government and the legislature must give serious thought to bring about appropriate changes in law not only to curb custodial crime but also to see that such crime "does not go unpunished". Recalling the words of Abraham Lincoln, "if you once forfeit the confidence of our fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem".

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), as a human rights organisation based in Bangladesh which advocates in favour of access to justice of all people, strongly condemns serious human rights violations such as custodial death by way of torture.

ASK is deeply concerned about the increased numbers of custodial death in the custody of a special law-enforcing agency due to torture. ASK also notices with grave concern that there is an attempt to cover up these murderous acts and putting the blame on the victims themselves by abusing their power to hide the truth using unauthorized and illegal access to the legal documents. In such incidents the police rather unabashedly say that the victims themselves were wanted in a number of criminal cases. This has become a routine explanation of our police force. But this does not cut any ice. It is also not legally tenable. An accused has the right to a fair trial and cannot be called a criminal by the police unless he is proven as such in a court of law. The preemptive "trial by policemen" is a dangerous trend even as the government decries the "trial by media".

We are eager to extend our support for tough action to curb terrorism and restore law and order in the country. We also laud the heroic and courageous activities of the members of the RAB and the policemen in their effort to make life safe for people. In the recent past some members of the RAB and the police have lost their lives in the hands of the terrorists during discharging their duties. But when we, at times, see that an accused person dies in police custody we cannot but condemn. As law enforcers they cannot commit murder. Taking somebody's life by those whose special obligation to society is to protect life is all the more shocking. Those responsible must be made accountable and punished.

Please find attached herewith contact details for the Hon'ble President of Bangladesh, the office of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the Hon'ble State Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Hon'ble State Minister for Home Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh.

1. Prof. Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed
President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh,
Bangabhaban,
Dhaka, Bangladesh,
Fax: +88 2 9566242

2. Begum Khaleda Zia
Honorable Prime Minister People's Republic of Bangladesh
Prime Minister's Office,
Old Parliament House,
Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fax: 88-02-8113244, 88-02-8111015, 88-02-8113243
E-mail: pmo@pmo.bdonline.com or psecretary@pmobd.org (to the Secretary)

3. Barrister Moudud Ahmed
Honorable Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
Govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat
Fax:88-02-8618557
E-mail: minoflaw@bdonline.com

4. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babar
Honourable State Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat
Fax: 880-02-8619667, 880-02-9552323

5. Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG,
8-14 Avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9016

In the last few months, the Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) community in Bangladesh has been subjected to repeated assaults on its mosques in several places and on individual members of the community. The two most recent events occurred in Dhaka, the capital city, on November 21 and December 5, 2003 when large mobs of thousands were instigated by Moulana Mahmudul Hasan Momtaji, Coordinator of the Khatme Nabuwat Movement and Moulana Azizul Huq of the Islami Oikkyo Jote, to attack an Ahmadiyya mosque in Nakhalpara. In previous incidents, mobs carrying banners in the name of "Khatme Nabuwat Movement Coordination Committee" have attacked mosques in Jessore, Kushtia, Jheniadah and Jamalpur.

In a hate demonstration on December 5, the anti-Ahmadiyya zealots, mainly under the banner of Khatme Nabuwat Movement and an organisation called "Jaish-e-Mustafa," announced a one-week ultimatum for the government to declare Ahmadiyyas as non-Muslims. They also threatened to either burn down or take over the Ahmadiyya mosque and vowed to bring the country to a standstill if their demands are not met. Earlier, Moulana Azizul Huq, Chairman of the faction of the Islamic Oikyo Jote (IOJ), a coalition partner of the present Government, had called on the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on 29 November 2003, and urged her to declare the Ahmadiyyas as non-Muslims. It had been reported in the press that the Prime Minister assured Moulana Huq that she would "look into the matter." This comment itself points to appeasement and gives more than tacit encouragement for the use of violence.

The increasing level of religious intolerance instigated by extremists and the corresponding indulgence of the Government, is a matter of grave concern. The lenience of the Government has resulted in a situation where religious fanatics terrorise communities they disapprove of, threaten violence and destruction if they are not appeased, and spew fanaticism and hatred with impunity. The acts of arson and demolition of religious institutions, and instigations to violence breached the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under the Constitution, and gave sufficient cause to the Government to enforce the law and bring the situation under control. Instead the law enforcement agencies have delayed in arresting the perpetrators, and the government has prevaricated, leading to apprehensions that the government is unwilling to act against the leaders of the Islami Oikkyo Jote (IOJ), who are members of coalition in government. The Government has thus allowed itself to play into the hands of organised terror groups. Moreover, the ominous silence of the main Opposition has created a major threat to peace and stability in Bangladesh.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), as a human rights organisation based in Bangladesh which advocates in favour of access to justice of all marginalised groups, strongly condemns the attacks on the Ahmadiyyas as well as the demand to declare them as non-Muslims. This move can only lead to violence and anarchy and will be a gross violation of the right to freedom of religion.

We call upon the Government of Bangladesh to take immediate steps to prevent this incitement to sectarian violence. The Government's present indifference to the plight of religious minorities and marginalised communities exposes these communities to extreme vulnerability and insecurity. Moreover, there is fear that such communal intolerance in Bangladesh will impact negatively on the whole South Asian region as well.

We are reassured to read in the press today ( 9th December, 2003, Daily Star) that the State Minister for Religious Affairs, Mr. Mosharef Hossain Shajahan rejected the demand for declaring the Ahmadiyyas non-Muslims by saying, "None less than Allah can do it ... as the Minister concerned, I have no power nor am I entitled to do so." We also commend the State Minister for his fortitude in pointing out that, "Now they (anti-Ahmadiyya group) are demanding it ... once the demand is met, they will want to capture a mosque, then a church ..." We take great hope in the State Minister's comments and would like to be reassured that it as representative of the stand of the Government of Bangladesh in favour of religious freedom.

We call upon all conscientious individuals and human rights organisations to urge the Government of Bangladesh to uphold the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion of all citizens, irrespective of sect or denomination, and to protect the rights of all minorities.

Please find attached herewith an excerpt about the Ahmadiyya community, taken from the Banglapedia - National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Also find contact details for the office of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the Hon'ble Minister for Home Affairs and the Hon'ble State Minister for Religious Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh.

Begum Khaleda Zia
Hon'ble Prime Minister
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Prime Minister's Office, Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka
Phone : (880 2) 8828160 - 79, 9888677; Fax: (880 2) 8113244 (Principal Secretary)
Fax: (880 2) 9133722 (Political Sec.); (880 2) 8113243 (Press Sec.)
E-mail: pmo@pmo.bdonline.com

Mr. Altaf Hossain Choudhury
Hon'ble Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat (Building No. 8), Dhaka
Phone (880 2) 7164611; 8614611 and 8614633
Fax: (880 2) 8619667; and 8614788

Mr. Mosharef Hossain Shajahan
Hon'ble State Minister, Ministry of Religious Affairs
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka
Phone (880 2) 8610682
Fax: (880 2) 8615040

Type of Death	Dhaka	Chittagong	Khulna	Rongpur	Barishal
Cross fire	11	13	04	1	1
Physical torture	02	01	-	-	1
Not showing any cause	01	-	03	-	-
Shoot	01	-	-	-	-
Total	15	14	07	1	2