100 Days of Dr Yunus: No change in human rights situation, alleges pressure group

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 18, 2024

The Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) criticized Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammed Yunus for reverting to deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, promoting rights violations, and providing impunity for police murders during student protests.

In its report, “100 Days of Dr Yunus: Mobocracy Imperils Bangladesh’s Reforms”, the RRAG deplored the Bangladesh government for increased violations of the rights of the indigenous peoples and religious minorities and providing impunity to the murderers of 44 policemen killed during the students protests.

The RRAG report highlights human rights violations during Dr. Mohammed Yunus’ first 100 days in Bangladesh, including criminal cases against 2,72,316 people, targeting 354 journalists, removing five Supreme Court judges, dissolving the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), using the International War Crimes Tribunal, increasing attacks on indigenous peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, rejecting the implementation of the CHTs Peace Accord, dismissing over 2,000 cases of alleged attacks on religious minorities, banning freedom of association and peaceful assembly, using the draconian Cyber Security Act, barring law enforcement from arresting or filing cases against those involved in the July-August uprising and attempting to establish ‘Awami League Free Bangladesh’ by banning its student’s wing, Chhatra League, as a terrorist organization.

Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG, stated that Dr Yunus is not being questioned for human rights violations, including supervising attacks on indigenous peoples and religious minorities.

“Dr Yunus’s Interim government using the students to justify all the illegal and unconstitutional acts including to remain in power as long as he wishes. As late as 14 November, Dr Yunus reiterated that elections will be held only after reforms. These reforms can take months or years, and he can remain in power even though these reforms can be effectively rejected by the next elected government,” Chakma said.

The RRAG argued that the proposed reform measures and election delay are unquestioned due to fear of mobs, with the Bangladesh National Party and Jamaat-e-Islami supporting Dr Yunus’s government. The Interim Government’s actions, including banning the Chhatra League and burning the Jatiya Party headquarters, appear to be a no-return strategy.

“Dr Yunus appears to have squandered the opportunity to establish genuine democracy in Bangladesh through national reconciliation. If the international community continues to support so-called reforms for the sake of support without considering the basic fact that wide-ranging reforms being undertaken need not be acceptable to the next elected government, Bangladesh is bound to fail”. – cautioned Chakma.

The RRAG has called for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, to establish an office in Bangladesh to support the transition process.