In one of the more despondent moves by the Government, human rights organisation Odhikar’s secretary Adilur Rahman Khan was arrested on charges of distorting information. This was in reference to the mop up operations carried out by the Government on the night of May 5. Adilur Rahman was accused of violating human rights of others through spreading ‘baseless and false news’ regarding the number of dead in the Shapla Chattor night time operations.
Home minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir said on Sunday that “Allegations against him (Khan) are being probed and legal steps will follow the investigation” (bdnews24.com).
The minister said it was a ‘crime’ to strip others off their rights in the name of human rights. “Countries which are active in protecting the rights do not tolerate these things.”
His statement instead of clearing the air has made the situation murkier.
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Odhikar has been a BNP leaning HR outfit but calling it a “right wing” outfit has no meaning and those saying so are clearly politically biased and have no understanding of human rights. Right wing outfits have as much rights as a left wing outfit when it comes to HR issues and its political leaning has absolutely no relevance. The AL has always had problems with HR activists and in the foundational days of Bangladesh too it used to call HR outfits ‘left wing and extremist outfits.’ What the AL doesn’t seem to understand that HR outfits may be political but not HR issues. And HR outfits and its activists can’t be arrested simply over a disagreement over how many were killed in a midnight police operation. In that case every claim by contesting HR outfits becomes a cause for arrest.
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Odhikar has claimed that 61 people were killed. When the Government asked for details, Odhikar refused to comply with the request saying that the families of victims would face harassment if the names and addresses were known. They however have said that if an independent body is set up, the information will be given to them. So to claim that they distorted information isn’t all that simple. The Government figure for the night is zero and its opponents say this isn’t true. But nobody said that anything near 61 were killed either. The Opposition claims initially were into hundreds and later reached this number. So the Government and Odhikar are probably guilty of the same crime which is fact distortion at least according to each other. In that case, along with Adilur Rahman Khan should we also call for the arrest of Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and the several police officers who told the public that there was no casualty? Claims and counter claims can go on but that will not clear the air.
The confusion is about credibility and not numbers. And neither the government nor Odhikar seem to be high on that.
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“It is a crime to tarnish country’s image in the name of human rights,” Minister Alamgir has said. This is true though we are yet to know the exact legal clauses behind such an arrest. But to say that Odhikar has tarnished the image of Bangladesh through its reporting the dead and not others is also an overblown statement to make a case. The biggest insult nationally was the collapse of the Rana Plaza and like it or not it happened under this government. The kind of excuse hunting that the government went on trying to shift from every one of its political shoulder including Murad Jang and Rana was embarrassing. And remember, back then too the whole world was watching. Alamgir may himself be remembered for his widely quoted remark that foot stamping activists of the Opposition shook the building which was responsible for the crash. It drew a great deal of derision and severely damaged the integrity of the AL government as a ‘serious’ government.
But the Reshma incident which gained international exposure and ultimately disbelief too was a big insult to the image of the nation. We came out looking like amateur storytellers which made us, including the army, laughable. To the Government these don’t matter as they see this as part of damage control and done in the best interest of the party but to many/most they diminished our credibility status greatly and made us an international joke. This is apart from the national image death we have experienced as the world discovers how terribly and murderously our RMG sector is run. So who is to decide which has caused greater or lesser damage to our image and who is to be taken in?
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Given that many people are quite frustrated with the government and its criticism is almost peaking while only a few months away from the national election, it’s obvious that people are going to read electoral anxiety here in this move. Going by its priority, the Hifazat issue has become a major factor in polling though many would disagree. But If the AL is nervous about how the Hifazat issue will impact on voting, it must surely know arresting a man seen as pro-Hifazati will not make it look better. Or does it mean that the Hifazat issue has really made a difference and Adilur Rahman is the sort of a symbolic ‘enemy’ the entire Opposition has been trying to create and has somewhat been successful in creating?
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Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir believes other rights groups will not protest against the move. However that hope has already been proven false as Transparency International (B) and a group of eminent HR activists have issued strong statements condemning the arrest. So have other international communities, including the EU. Perhaps the hope that HR outfits and organisations would not condemn is the kind of false belief that has led the AL to make so many errors. This arrest will surely count as one of them. There was no need to turn the matter into an issue, create a hero and all that. It will not change anything because those who will choose to believe that 61 died will believe that Odhikar had genuine evidence which has made the government nervous.
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Perhaps the problem is in our approach towards transparency of facts and management of law and order. Convenience has replaced all legal notions of law and order and as a result we have no idea what will be right and what will be wrong and when. The only way out is to actually set up an independent commission to find out if there is any worth behind the Odhikar claims. Otherwise, all it will achieve is making the AL more unpopular something not really worth the risk in an electoral phase. Unless all the facts are known it will become another issue which for the AL, like the Yunus issue, only created more enemies.
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Odhikar’s political bias is obvious but so is the government’s and it has become a BNP-AL fight. But the onus of proving that the death list is zero or 61 is on both. Whatever the facts, they must be known. Politically, the AL has something to lose by arresting Adilur Rahman and it will gain most by setting up an independent probe commission. As for Odhikar, it has an obligation to prove its claim. Use the social network to release the names if need be so that if everyone knows them, the safety will not be compromised. Whatever be the situation, the people have a right to know.