Blame game will only breed terrorism: NHRC chief

Political parties should stop the blame game over the recent spate of killings because it may breed even more militancy and terrorism, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Mizanur Rahman, told The Independent in an interview yesterday. His tenure is scheduled to end on June 23. Rahman said when the high-ups in the government make off-the-cuff remarks over the attacks on minorities and blame particular parties, the field-level investigation may be biased. Regarding the overall human rights situation in the country, he said Bangladesh has achieved a lot, but the audacious attitude of some agencies may create a big gap between citizens and the state.
Asked about the recent mass arrests of around 1,300 people, the NHRC boss said, “We don’t need any erudition to understand the abuse of human rights violation when such a huge number of people are arrested without any allegation against them.”
“Apparently these people were arrested because there were cases against them. But the law enforcers should not forget that a person cannot be arrested for only having a case against him/her. There might be cases against them, but it does not mean that they are guilty. A person is guilty only when a court pronounces him/her guilty,” he added. Rahman said a bad culture of filing ‘harassing’ cases had cropped up in the country. “When harassing cases flood the society, it becomes easy to file complaints against anyone. Law enforcers and the state should be more cautious while arresting anyone,” he added. He pointed out that apparently these people were involved in crimes committed in 2014 and were being arrested in 2016. “A big question arises about the professional ability of the law enforcers in this case,” he said. “Sometimes cases are filed against unknown people also. Who will guarantee that these people, who have been arrested recently, will not be included in the anonymous list?” he remarked.
Besides, Rahman said that the court in a recent verdict has specified some guidelines for arrest under Section 54. Such mass arrests are in blatant violation of that order, which is not desirable from law enforcers. “They should defend human rights. Such mass arrests may involve misuse of power,” he noted.
Replying to a query about high-ups in the government and police blaming certain parties for the attacks, Rahman said, “If we bring large-scale allegations against someone from the high level, no one can guarantee that field-level investigations would not be biased. We should not make off-the-cuff remarks without proper investigation.”
About custodial killings, the NHRC chairman said that when a person is detained, he/she is under the protection of the state. “It is the duty of the government to give him/her protection. The state cannot evade responsibility when a detained person dies of unnatural causes,” he explained.
He elaborated, “Why do we condemn the jail killings of November 3, 1975? We do it because the leaders were in the custody of the then government. When they were killed in the jail, the state could not evade responsibility.”
About the recent ‘shootout’ killing of Golam Faizullah Fahim, who was in police custody, Rahman said, “Fahim was in the custody of law enforcers, but he was killed in a shootout. Was it a deliberate negligence by the law enforcers? We need to find it out through proper investigation.”
About the role of the law enforcers in containing militancy, he said, “Law enforcers should be more professional while carrying out their responsibility without considering any political identity. Only then it is possible to address militancy.”
About the use of religion in politics, Rahman said, “Bangladesh was liberated under the principle of secularism. But we become anxious when all political parties make their plans based on religion. When parties use religion for political gain, the orthodox people feel happy because they think the parties are doing their work. It is not desirable to hurt anybody’s religion. But religion should not be used for political gain. Then, militancy gets the chance to flourish using the excuse of religion.”
Rahman said political parties’ condemning each other for a crime is a bad culture in Bangladesh politics. “Political parties should defend the rights of the people. They should eradicate terrorism. Blame game will not help eradicate militancy and terrorism,” he added.
About the human rights situation in Bangladesh at present, the NHRC chairman said, “If we talk about economic, cultural and social rights, it has an upward trend. But in recent times, we have seen an audacious attitude of some agencies. If such attitudes are not contained, it will create a big gap between citizens and the state.” About formulating of the ‘refugee policy’ by India, Rahman said, “If India adopts such a policy, persecution of minorities would only increase here. We should caution them (India) about this. The common people of our country are enough to defend the rights of minorities. The people of Bangladesh are secular and people of different faiths have been living harmoniously here for thousands of years.”
“A group is hatching a conspiracy to create anarchy in the country. If India adopts such a refugee policy, it would destroy the spirit of secularism and establish communalism here. Our government should send this message to the Indian government,” he added.

Blame game will only breed terrorism: NHRC chief

Political parties should stop the blame game over the recent spate of killings because it may breed even more militancy and terrorism, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Mizanur Rahman, told The Independent in an interview yesterday. His tenure is scheduled to end on June 23. Rahman said when the high-ups in the government make off-the-cuff remarks over the attacks on minorities and blame particular parties, the field-level investigation may be biased. Regarding the overall human rights situation in the country, he said Bangladesh has achieved a lot, but the audacious attitude of some agencies may create a big gap between citizens and the state. Asked about the recent mass arrests of around 1,300 people, the NHRC boss said, We dont need any erudition to understand the abuse of human rights violation when such a huge number of people are arrested without any allegation against them. Apparently these people were arrested because there were cases against them. But the law enforcers should not forget that a person cannot be arrested for only having a case against him/her. There might be cases against them, but it does not mean that they are guilty. A person is guilty only when a court pronounces him/her guilty, he added. Rahman said a bad culture of filing harassing cases had cropped up in the country. When harassing cases flood the society, it becomes easy to file complaints against anyone. Law enforcers and the state should be more cautious while arresting anyone, he added. He pointed out that apparently these people were involved in crimes committed in 2014 and were being arrested in 2016. A big question arises about the professional ability of the law enforcers in this case, he said. Sometimes cases are filed against unknown people also. Who will guarantee that these people, who have been arrested recently, will not be included in the anonymous list? he remarked. Besides, Rahman said that the court in a recent verdict has specified some guidelines for arrest under Section 54. Such mass arrests are in blatant violation of that order, which is not desirable from law enforcers. They should defend human rights. Such mass arrests may involve misuse of power, he noted. Replying to a query about high-ups in the government and police blaming certain parties for the attacks, Rahman said, If we bring large-scale allegations against someone from the high level, no one can guarantee that field-level investigations would not be biased. We should not make off-the-cuff remarks without proper investigation. About custodial killings, the NHRC chairman said that when a person is detained, he/she is under the protection of the state. It is the duty of the government to give him/her protection. The state cannot evade responsibility when a detained person dies of unnatural causes, he explained. He elaborated, Why do we condemn the jail killings of November 3, 1975? We do it because the leaders were in the custody of the then government. When they were killed in the jail, the state could not evade responsibility. About the recent shootout killing of Golam Faizullah Fahim, who was in police custody, Rahman said, Fahim was in the custody of law enforcers, but he was killed in a shootout. Was it a deliberate negligence by the law enforcers? We need to find it out through proper investigation. About the role of the law enforcers in containing militancy, he said, Law enforcers should be more professional while carrying out their responsibility without considering any political identity. Only then it is possible to address militancy. About the use of religion in politics, Rahman said, Bangladesh was liberated under the principle of secularism. But we become anxious when all political parties make their plans based on religion. When parties use religion for political gain, the orthodox people feel happy because they think the parties are doing their work. It is not desirable to hurt anybodys religion. But religion should not be used for political gain. Then, militancy gets the chance to flourish using the excuse of religion. Rahman said political parties condemning each other for a crime is a bad culture in Bangladesh politics. Political parties should defend the rights of the people. They should eradicate terrorism. Blame game will not help eradicate militancy and terrorism, he added. About the human rights situation in Bangladesh at present, the NHRC chairman said, If we talk about economic, cultural and social rights, it has an upward trend. But in recent times, we have seen an audacious attitude of some agencies. If such attitudes are not contained, it will create a big gap between citizens and the state. About formulating of the refugee policy by India, Rahman said, If India adopts such a policy, persecution of minorities would only increase here. We should caution them (India) about this. The common people of our country are enough to defend the rights of minorities. The people of Bangladesh are secular and people of different faiths have been living harmoniously here for thousands of years. A group is hatching a conspiracy to create anarchy in the country. If India adopts such a refugee policy, it would destroy the spirit of secularism and establish communalism here. Our government should send this message to the Indian government, he added.