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Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities |
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Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities |
Attacks on Dr. Kamal Hossain and Professor Humayun Azad: Ensure Safety and Security and Bring the Culprits to Justice.HRCBM PRESS RELEASEFriday, February 28, 2004 The Human Right Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) condemns the attacks on Dr. Kamal Hossain and his entourage in Chittagong on his way to Rangamati on Monday, 23 February 2004, and on Professor Humayun Azad on Friday, 27 February 2004, in the strongest possible terms. Dr.
Kamal Hossain,
president of Gano Forum (People’s Forum) Party, is a valiant freedom
fighter, member of the Bangladesh Government in Exile during the War of
Liberation (1971), one of the architects of the Constitution of
Bangladesh (1972), an internationally recognized lawyer and expert on
constitutional law, a human rights advocate and founder of
Ain-O-Shalishi Kendra (Center for Law and Justice, a human rights
organization in Bangladesh). We utterly condemn the attack and
fabrication of the incident by Mr. Altaf Hossain, the Home Minister of
Bangladesh, with a view to mislead the people of Bangladesh and the
international community. Dr.
Humayun Azad,
Professor of Bengali, Dhaka University, a man of letters, an author, a
humanist, is well known home and abroad as an outspoken critic of the
betrayers of the War of Independence and collaborators of oppressing
Pakistani Junta, and a voice of secularism and Bengali conscience. We
are deeply concerned for his life and safety. We are shocked and
speechless; we condemn this act of cowardly violence against Professor
Azad vehemently. As
a state party to ICPR, UDHR and other relevant instruments of human
rights, the country must bring an end to ongoing violation of human
rights and restore fundamental freedom and rights of the citizens in the
country. We, together with the international community, have witnessed,
since the October 2001 General Election, this kind of behavior by the
present government denying attacks on life and property of the people
and barbaric violation of human rights of citizens of Bangladesh,
specially the religious and ethnic minorities, journalists, authors,
human rights activists, political leaders, leaders of the opposition,
and those who voice Bengali conscience and uphold humanity, freedom and
justice. We
appeal to the government of Bangladesh for prompt action and
apprehension of the criminals irrespective of their party affiliation.
Once again, we are shocked and alarmed to observe the collapse of the
government and law and order in the country. This trend of suppression
of human rights and aggression in addition to ongoing atrocities against
minorities in the country infringe the very basic norms of a civilized
society. The
perpetrators are anti-Bangladesh, and anti-peace. We urge the government
of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to conduct independent investigations of
the incidents, give exemplary punishment to the criminals so that
“others of their ilk” never dare to commit violence and human rights
abuses again. We demand that safety and security of Dr. Kamal Hossain
and Professor Humayun Azad, in particular, and all citizens of
Bangladesh, in general, must be ensured. The law of the land must be
implemented without prejudice and any further deterioration. The
perpetrators must be dealt with an iron hand, and credibility of
Bangladesh as a civilized democratic country must be restored in the
community of Nations. The voice of conscience must be allowed to
speak freely. Ajit K. Roy, Ph.D. |
