‘Disappearances, extrajudicial killings almost nil’
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Thursday said incidents of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing had been “almost nil” during the government’s first six months in office.
“We are proud to announce that in our first six months, we have shown our zero tolerance for enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing. It is almost nil.
There’s also no complaint that the police have filed any false cases against any political opponents,” he said. The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at an event at Dhaka University’s Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban marking US Constitution Day and commemorating 250 years of American democracy.
The event was jointly organised by the DU Faculty of Law and the US Embassy in Dhaka.
Asaduzzaman contrasted the current situation with what he described as abuses under the previous “fascist” regime.
He alleged that more than 4,500 BNP leaders and activists were victims of extrajudicial killings, around 700 were forcibly disappeared and around 60 lakh BNP leaders and activists faced false cases as part of political persecution.
He further alleged that most of those cases were filed by law enforcement agencies themselves.
The minister also drew parallels between the constitutions of Bangladesh and the United States, expressing gratitude for what he described as the founding principles of the US Constitution.
“I especially pay my tribute to the people of the USA for showing us the path to having one of the finest constitutions in the world by the people of Bangladesh in 1972.
In the US Constitution, which was adopted in September 1787, they started writing that ‘We, the people of America.’ And in 1972, we started writing ‘We, the people of Bangladesh’. Here is the similarity,” he said.
He said the two countries’ constitutions shared basic democratic pillars.
“The US Constitution was adopted, ratified, accepted, and enforced by the American people, keeping in mind that democracy and freedom are the basic pillars.
Our Constitution is also based on some basic pillars and basic structures which are borrowed from the American Constitution. We are going through a regime, a time when our Constitution is our basic pillar for guiding us,” he said.
The Constitution Day programme featured a public ceremony, panel discussion, essay competition, quiz contest and an exhibition from the American Founders Museum.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen said constant debate, the continuous search for consensus, separation of powers, judicial independence and the ability to add constitutional amendments had helped make the US Constitution resilient and an inspiration to democracies worldwide for more than 200 years.
DU Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Abdus Salam, Dean of the Faculty of Law Prof Dr Muhammad Ekramul Haque, constitutional experts, academics and students also attended the event.
