Dhaka, July 28 (Just News): The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has accused Bangladesh's ruling Awami League government of human rights abuses and of diminishing basic freedoms.
The Hong Kong-based rights watchdog, in a statement on Thursday, said Bangladesh's human rights situation has alarmingly deteriorated over the past years, and it tends to get worse, said the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN).
Deutsche Welle, meanwhile in an article styled “Is Bangladesh's media freedom deteriorating?”termed "imperilled" Bangladesh’s political environment in the run-up to the pending general elections later this year.
"The lynching that targeted a prominent journalist like Mahmudur Rahman is likely to create a devastating chilling effect among those who dare to question the government and the ruling party," the German radio quoted Daniel Bastard, head of Asia-Pacific desk at Reporters without Borders, as saying in a statement.
AHRC said: "Exercising of basic freedoms by the ordinary people appears to be impossible under the current regime. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association is being denied and dealt with [cruelly]."
"Both the law enforcement agencies of the state and the ruling party's armed gangsters join each other to hit protesters in broad daylight," the rights group added,
It referred to recent incidents such as a police crackdown on university students demanding reform of the quota system in the government's job, and also the attack on Mahmudur Rahman. The watchdog also criticised state agencies for complicity in the process of oppression.
"Undoubtedly the human rights situation is worsening. Extrajudicial killings go unabated, while police crackdowns on protesters and the suppression of opposition are a few examples," Theophil Nokrek, secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Justice and Peace Commission, was quoted by the UCAN to have said.
"The government refused and abolished a neutral caretaker administration system during elections, and instead the election will be held under the ruling government."
Deutsche Welle quoted Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, as saying that the attack pointed to a "rising climate of intolerance" in Bangladesh. "Ultimately, the attack is a reminder that in Bangladesh, democracy is very much imperiled," he reportedly added.
According to Reporters without Borders, media self-censorship is growing in Bangladesh as a result of the "endemic violence" against journalists and media outlets, and the "almost systematic impunity" enjoyed by those responsible.
Deutsche Welle, referring to experts, fear that the situation could get worse as Bangladesh's national election is scheduled to take place later this year.
"It appears that Bangladesh may be taking a tactic out of Pakistan's book and is trying to control media narratives in the lead-up to the key national elections," Michael Kugelman was quoted to have said..
"In Bangladesh, as in so many other countries, some brave dissidents continue to speak out even as the walls start to close in around them," he reportedly said, adding that if these attacks are a new precedent, then it could have a "chilling effect" with implications for local media's coverage of the election.
(Justnews/ys/2320hr)
