The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party said on Wednesday that the Awami League government was responsible for every incident of enforced disappearance, and it was proven by them at different times.
‘Some of them even admitted that they had perpetrated such disappearances and extrajudicial killings, the worst crimes against humanity,’ BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a press conference at the party’s Naya Paltan central office, marking 12 years since its leader M Ilias Ali’s disappearance.
‘On behalf of the BNP, I strongly demand the government return M Ilias Ali and all other disappeared leaders and activists to their families. Otherwise, be prepared to stand trial for every murder and disappearance one day,’ he said.
Rizvi said that after Ilias Ali’s disappearance, the assurance of finding him was a public show by the authorities.
At that time, the BNP was observing a five-day hartal and false assurances were given to stop the BNP’s strike and movement, he said.
The BNP leader said that the Awami League government was using disappearance as a strategy to create fear, panic, and insecurity among the people in society.
‘Their main goal is to eliminate dissenting voices and continue the long-standing fascist regime,’ he said, adding that abduction, disappearance, murder, crossfire, and extrajudicial killings in the name of gunfights have increased at a geometric rate during the entire tenure of this government.
He said that during the tenure of this government, Bangladesh became known in the international arena as a country of human rights violations, disappearances, and murders.
‘Over the past decade and a half, a large part of the country’s wealth has been smuggled to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, and Europe. To remove these crimes from the public eye, the government has adopted a ruthless and inhumane approach,’ he said.
Rizvi said that more than 650 activists had gone missing so far.
Rizvi said that the culture of fear had been introduced by the government in Bangladesh so that people remained afraid to speak.
‘Every democracy-loving citizen of the country is afraid of disappearance, murder, and kidnapping,’ he said.
