Disappearance, extrajudicial killing, price hike, corruption remain major concerns
Moloy Saha and Mustafizur Rahman
The Awami League-led government has failed to keep many of its 2008 election pledges such as enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killing, soaring goods prices and corruption, which continue apace.
AL promised nine years back before the 2008 general election, and also before the 2014 election which was boycotted by all opposition political parties, to end extrajudicial killing, curb corruption, establish good governance and keep prices of essentials stable.
Political observers said that the AL-led alliance got elected making lofty pledges that raised great expectations among the people.
The government has so far mostly failed to live up to such expectations, said experts, adding that frequent incidents of question paper leaks in public examinations down to annual exams even at the primary level and mistakes in textbooks in recent times worried all guardians and academics.
Asked for comment, AL presidium member Mohammad Nasim, also the health minister, said that the government had taken adequate steps to improve human rights situation and curb corruption. ‘The situations will improve soon as a result of the steps already taken.’
According to rights organisation Odhikar, at least 414 people were subjected to enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2017 with the number being highest in 2016-17. In the past nine years, there were 1,276 extrajudicial killings, the rights body reported.
It was the responsibility of the state to find out disappeared people, said National Human Rights Commission chairman Kazi Reazul Haque. He said that not a single incident of extrajudicial killing and custodial deaths was expected.
Several top Awami league leaders, avoiding direct answers to questions as to why the government failed to keep the promises, assured that these issues would be addressed soon. AL presidium member Muhammad Faruk Khan claimed that the government had fulfilled most of the election pledges while some were fulfilled partly and would be completed in future.
Another presidium member Pijush Kanti Bhattachrya said that some important pledges were yet to be implemented. ‘I shall raise the issue in the party forum and hope government would address it,’ he added.
‘These are important pledges that should have been implemented long back,’ AL organising secretary Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury said, adding, ‘as a party we have failed to remind the government to implement the pledges.’
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, now facing severe criticisms following price hike of essentials, recently said that 14 state-owned agencies were monitoring the local commodity markets. Tightening monitoring system on buying and selling price of imported products might lead to adverse situation, he said while talking to reporters on price hike at his office on December 21, 2017. He explained that traders’ associations were very powerful and might stop sale of products.
Towards the end of 2017, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid’s speech at a December 24 programme sparked widespread criticisms as he allegedly asked officials to ‘take bribe, but keep it tolerable’ and said ‘government official and cabinet members are thief’. Nahid on several occasions blamed a section of dishonest teachers for question leaks and claimed that corruption had decreased in education sector while academics alleged corruption had rather multiplied in absence of good governance in the important area.
AL’s promise to control violence and religious extremism, and end extrajudicial killings and strengthen human rights commission are still in the paper.
Ain o Salish Kendra in a report released on December 31, 2017 described the overall human rights situation in 2017 as extremely worrying. Extrajudicial killings by the law enforcement agencies in the cover of gunfights, crossfire and exchange of fire continued throughout 2017 just like in the preceding years, it said.
Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Iqbal Mahmood said that the commission offered assistance to various ministries and Cabinet Division for containing corruption in big projects in a pro-active move. ‘But we have not got any response as yet. We are working on our own,’ he said.
The Awami League before the 2008 elections promised that multi-pronged measures to fight corruption would be put in place and strict measures would be taken to eliminate bribe, extortion, rent-seeking and corruption. The promises have belied the ground reality, said experts.
Big scams involving the theft at Bangladesh Bank, corruption in BASIC Bank, Sonali Bank, railway, the Hallmark Group and the Destiny Group detected in the past five years questioned the transparency and credibility of the government.
Name of Bangladeshi people in illegal investment in offshore companies in the secretive tax haven of the British Virgin Islands also created concern among the people.
The government neither moved to appoint an ombudsman to promote good governance by fighting corruption nor ensured the disclosure of wealth statements and sources of income of the prime minister, ministers, lawmakers and members of their families.
Anti-graft campaigners questioned sincerity of the Anti-Corruption Commission as petty corruption suspects were held while big shots were not netted.
Bangladesh ranked the 15th most corrupt country in the world in 2016 in the world’s corruption perceptions index prepared by Berlin-based Transparency International. Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said that steps to control corruption could be much stronger. ‘High level corruption is a matter of concern,’ he added.
Many of the five priority issues, including measures to reduce the burden of price hike, setting up of an institution for commodity price control are still unfulfilled, said rights activists.
Consumer Association Bangladesh in a report released on January 2 showed that the cost of living leaped by 8.44 per cent in the capital in 2017 for food and other essentials, utility charges as well house rent became costlier. In the year, rice price shot up by 20.40 on an average, it said.
CAB energy adviser M Shamsul Alam blamed unabated corruption, extortions in food supply chain, businessmen’s greed for unbridled profits together with the government’s tendency to increase revenue earnings contributing to soaring annual cost of living.
AL’s promises to make parliament effective and the government accountable, to ban use of religion and communalism in politics and ensure security and rights of religious and ethnic minorities and contain extremism and extortion also fallen flat, observers said.
Experts said that governments promise of making administration free from politicisation and ensuring appointment and promotion in public service based on efficiency, seniority and merit were also not addressed.
Good governance campaigner Badiul Alam Majumder said that the country lagged behind in terms of rule of law, democracy and good governance as the government presented a theory of pro-development democracy in its regime.
‘It’s true that we have made some developments. But corruption and criminalisation have increased as the government has failed to decentralise services,’ he said.
Courtesy: New Age, Jan 12, 2013
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