Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on friday urged the interim government to take initiative for conducting investigations into the incidents of enforced disappearances in the past 15 years in Bangladesh under the United Nations (UN).

"A team from the United Nations has come to Bangladesh for the first time to investigate into the wrongdoings of the autocrat of Bangladesh. It is an initial team, a fact-finding one," he said.

Fakhrul added: "As per its terms of reference, it will investigate into the incidents of killings that took place in the last two months. I would like to urge the government to talk to the human rights commission of the UN. Take measures for conducting probe into every incident of crime against humanity, killing, forced disappearance in the last 15 years. If you (interim government) talk about it, the UN must do it."

The BNP secretary general came up with the demand at a solidarity meeting held in front of the party's Nayapaltan central office in the capital.

"As we have been in politics for long, we know about arrest, murder. But we don't know about forced disappearance. After coming to state power, the Awami League committed such heinous crimes against humanity by using law enforcement agencies," he said.

It is a good thing that Chief Adviser to the interim government Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus signed the Instrument of Accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from enforced disappearances, the BNP secretary general said.

Fakhrul demanded for bringing every family of the victims of enforced disappearances under allowance.

He extended thanks to the interim government for forming a probe body for tracing the victims of enforced disappearances saying "it is a good initiative".

"But you should take measures for providing allowances to every family of victims of enforced disappearances. We know that there are many families who are struggling to manage livings, education for children. It is the duty of the state to stay beside these families," the BNP secretary general said.

 

Expressing solidarity with the sufferings and pains of families of victims of enforced disappearances, Fakhrul said the family members are talking about their sufferings for long.

Mentioning about the sufferings of a child named Safa, he said: "This child is Safa. When she is saying that she wants to walk on the street with her father, I cannot hide my emotions being a father."

"Their rights should be brought back. Those who are involved with making these incidents of enforced disappearances, we more or less know them. Those who were in charges of RAB, police's special forces, should be found out and brought to book," he said.

Mirza Fakhrul said: "We feel very sorry when we see that political leaders are arrested. But it has not been possible to arrest a single one of those dangerous persons who launched killings and enforced disappearance. Hopefully, we will be able to see their arrest and actions against them within a very short period of time. We will be able to work so that Bangladesh can be transformed into an accountable and democratic state in the true sense of the term."

Noting that though the AL government has fallen, there is no reason for satisfaction, he said many conspiracies are still being hatched at home and abroad.

"If the plotters get a chance, they will carry out an attack on independence-loving people. So, unity should be made stronger further," Fakhrul said.

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said: "Sheikh Hasina adopted an 'enforced disappearance' project for staying in power. Mastermind of this project is Sheikh Hasina. Those who led the project should be unmasked."

Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed said: "Today I want to clearly say that Benazir and Ziaul Ahsan were the main villains of the 'Ayna Ghar'. One has been sacked from the job and arrested. Here one person said if Ziaul has been interrogated, everything will come out. I completely agreed with him."

Salahuddin Ahmed, also a former state minister, described about the terrible days of repression in 61 days in "Ayna Ghar" after being a victim of enforced disappearance.


Chaired by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and moderated by Publicity Secretary Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, BNP's human rights committee member Advocate Farzana Sharmin Putul, enforced disappearance victim Ilias Ali's wife Tahsina Rushdi Luna, Chowdhury Alam's daughter Khadiza Akhtar, Mayer Dak' coordinator Sanjida Islam Tuli and some family member of victims of enforced disappearance also spoke.

At the outset, a special munajat was offered recalling those who became victims of enforced disappearance.

Emotionally choked family members of the victims of enforced disappearance of BNP and its associate bodies described their sufferings and pains in a heavy heart which made emotional hundreds of leaders and workers of BNP present at the solidarity meeting.

Marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 'Mayer Dak', a platform of families of victims of enforced disappearance, formed a human-chain at the Central Shaheed Minar in the morning. Human rights activists, politicians, lawyers and relatives of victims of enforced disappearance took part in it.