Hasina won’t bow to any external pressure

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will not cave in to "any external pressure or internal conspiracy to derail the nation", said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and his deputy Shahriar Alam yesterday. 

They said the government is determined to hold the next general election in a free, fair and transparent manner under an independent Election Commission.

They made the remarks at a seminar titled "Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Bangladesh Perspectives," organised by the foreign ministry at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, marking the International Human Rights Day.

Foreign diplomats including US Ambassador Peter Haas, UK High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson, EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley, Sweden Ambassador Alex Berg von Linde and the Maldives High Commissioner Shiruzimath Sameer, among others, were present at the event.

The ministers noted the joint statement issued by 15 diplomatic missions on December 7 reaffirming the importance of a free, fair, inclusive and peaceful electoral process in Bangladesh.

Momen said Bangladesh saw a phenomenal rise in militant activities and violence during the BNP-Jamaat rule, and that dozens of AL leaders and activists were killed and injured in a grenade attack in 2004.

He said the AL government made significant socio-economic strides over the last decade, while militancy has notably declined.

Momen said there could be some weaknesses in terms of human rights and democratic practices, and that no country, including the US, was without drawbacks. Therefore, he said, instead of naming and shaming, cooperation and collaboration were needed to improve the situation.

Shahriar said the AL was the party that led the birth of this nation and has the glorious history of struggle against authoritarian regimes of Pakistan and later Bangladesh.

The source of the government's power is the people, who will determine who will rule this nation, he said.

"Neither any external power nor any internal conspiracy will be able to determine this," he said.

"We will never give up our fight to protect democracy, human dignity and fundamental freedom on this soil. I would call upon the foreign missions concerned in Dhaka to abide by diplomatic norms and etiquette that they themselves expect from foreign missions in their country to practise.

"The government is patient and cordial to our foreign guests and is sincerely willing to maintain friendly relations with all nations, but we do have some red lines."

Shahriar said globally, human rights agenda continues to remain the most neglected, largely due to the impasse created by the politicisation of the human rights agenda by a handful of countries.

"Developing countries like Bangladesh are being the target of undue pressure by a handful of countries from the North," he said.

Shahriar said that out of the 76 cases of so-called "Enforced Disappearances" communicated to Bangladesh by the UN Working Group, one case is as old as 28 years while 10 people have reappeared.

Of the remaining 66, police found that 28 had cases filed against them, including murder cases, and they have been absconding.

Out of the rest 38, police did not receive any feedback from the relatives of 10. The remaining 28 cases are under investigation, he said, stressing that UN needs to do its own analysis before accepting allegations from "politically motivated NGOs". 

Law Minister Anisul Huq said Bangladesh was born after a genocide. Five years into the independence, the Father of the Nation and his family members were assassinated. Indemnity bill was passed so that the killers could not be tried.

Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina, who faced sheer injustice, is therefore determined to uphold human rights and justice.

Bangladesh Nari Progoti Sangha Executive Director Rokeya Kabir reminded that the fanatic forces that worked against Bangladesh's independence should not be allowed in Bangladesh's politics.

She reminded all political parties not to use religion in politics, which takes women's freedom and democracy backwards.

Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs Director Prof Mizanur Rahman, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed and former Bangladesh permanent representative to the UN in Geneva Abdul Hannan also spoke at the event.