Page 1 of 6

Assignment on

Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh

Page 2 of 6

BANGLADESH: Present Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh

According to a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies,

the corrupt autocratic regime of former President H.M.Ershad fell when he was forced to

resign on December 6, 1990 following a popular democratic movement affecting 80% of

the country. An interim government under the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,

Shahabuddin Ahmed, was formed which was scrupulous in its impartiality. It conferred

on the Election Commission autonomous powers to run free and fair elections. The

parliamentary election of February 27, 1991 was the best ever held so far in Bangladesh.

Although vote rigging and ballot stuffing were not an issue in the eleven by-elections on

September 11, 1991 and in Union Council elections in 1992, the display of naked

violence by the two major parties (the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the

Awami League) was an ominous sign for the future. In spite of strong evidence of faulty

voters lists in the parliamentary elections, no corrective measures were taken in the two

subsequent elections. In 1992, the Election Commission announced a short period of time

(seven days) for voters to register if their names were missing from the lists.

To gain a majority in the Parliament, the BNP had first of all to enter into a coalition

government with the Jamaat-i-Islami, a fundamentalist Islamic party. But the BNP gained

a simple majority in Parliament through the by-elections and the election of 30 women

members by the Parliament. This enabled it to resist pressures for repeal of the unpopular

Special Powers Act (SPA), which all parties had opposed in the democratic movement,

and the Indemnity Bill, which gave protection to the killers of Sheikh Nujibur Rabman,

the first Prime Minister. Popular pressure, however, caused the BNP reluctantly to return

to a parliamentary system of government by amendment of the constitution on August 6,

1991 rather than to retain the former presidential system. A national referendum in

September 1991 was held on this issue which showed the public's strong support for it.

Another favourable step toward democracy has been a willingness of the general public

to give the new government sufficient breathing space to learn how to run the country in

a democratic way. However, Sheikh Hasina of the AL, leader of the opposition in the

Parliament, has been negative and exaggerated in her criticisms of government, carrying

opposition at times to near- ridiculous lengths, e.g., alleging an 9ngoing famine in the

Northwest in 1991 which never materialized.

There has been a lessened use of the SPA under the new government, especially against

political prisoners. The number of detainees under SPA was cut in half in 1991. As

previously, the present government also maintains that there are no political prisoners.

Several Jatiya Party detainees, however, who were detained under SPA obtained their

release through writ petition. Former President H.M. Ershad has been tried under several

charges of corruption and abuse of power in open courts and with strong legal backing.

Every attempt is being made apply the full rigour of law.

Nevertheless, the SPA and Vested Property Act, used selectively against the religious aid

tribal minorities and both widely considered as "black laws", remain entrenched with no

Page 3 of 6

signs that they will be repealed in the near future. Neither has government shown any

inclination to control prostitution, child and woman trafficking or abuse of labour laws

(including child labour) in the highly successful garment industry. Campus violence,

resulting in many deaths in 1991-92, is even greater than under the previous regime, as

the student unions of the big political parties continue to battle it out for supremacy on

the campuses. Their parties have shown no willingness to withdraw their support or to

censure the violent actions of their own party students.

Freedom of the press and freedom of expression have been widely restored with the

provision, however, that the press excercise self-censorship on certain issues.

Particularly striking since 1971 is a total absence of criticism of the military in the media.

Indirect censorship can still be exercised in many ways. The weekly Purbavarh was

banned by a phone call from the Home Ministry in October 1991 for allegedly "creating

tension in society" by publication of an article on the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)

favourable to the tribal position. The simultaneous publication of many articles

demanding equal rights for the Bengalis in the CHT were not regarded by the g6vernment

as "creating tension." The ban against the weekly is still in effect (as of March this year).

Although the BNP removed sections of the SPA restricting press freedom, including

closure of newspapers by government fiat, the same control measures have now been

incorporated into the Penal Code.

Human Rights Position

There has been no conspicuous improvement in other aspects of human rights since the

establishment of the new government. In fact, it was involved in a cover-up of police

atrocities in the Dhaka Central Jail in April 1991 through not launching any official

investigation and denying all allegations.

There has also been no improvement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) situation. The

government continues to stand for a political solution operating through the three Hill

District Councils and for development programmes in the CHT for the benefit of the

tribals. When the District Councils were dissolved elsewhere in the country in late 1991,

the unpopular Hill District Councils were retained. They are said to be controlled by the

military. The tribal people reject the Hill Councils and do not think that development can

be effected until there is a just political settlement. The Hill Districts were set up in 1989,

but so far only 10 of the 21 (or 22) district administrative subjects have been turned over

to the hill councils (there is a discrepancy of numbers in the press).

In recent months there has been an intense propaganda campaign through paid

journalists, whether directly by the Army or the government, to spread disinformation on

the CHT. These journalists are allowed free access to the CHT, while other responsible

persons are denied such access. Atrocities of the Shanti Bahini against both Bengali

colonialists or tribals, whether real or concocted, are spread widely in the press. While

attacks and atrocities of the Shanti Bahini against Bengali settlers must certainly be