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European HR meet asks govt to stop extra-judicial killings
Staff Correspondent

A European human rights conference on Bangladesh recently has called on the government to act immediately to stop 'extra judicial killings and custodial tortures', and bring to book the persons responsible for grenade attacks across the country.
The resolution of the conference held at University of London on June 17 urged the government to contain 'human rights abuses, especially the repression on minority communities and civil society members'.
Besides, it called for repeal of the Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution as well as 'racist laws such as the vested property legislation'.
Speakers at the conference reminded the government that to uphold the constitutional rights of the people, it must lift the ban on Ahmadiyya publications, restore the Ahmadiyya mosques to the sect, and ensure the rights of the Ahmadiyyas as well as of the other communities to jobs in public services and elsewhere.
Participants described the religious extremism in Bangladesh as threatening to halt the progress of democratic institutions and undermine the freedom of religion.
They expressed concern that the Bangladeshi authorities have not only failed to 'stop the rise of religious fanaticism, but have colluded with the extremist groups to violate the human rights of minority people'.
REJOINDER & REPLY
Bangladesh High Commission in London in a rejoinder yesterday protested the steering committee chairman of the conference Lord Avebury's statement on the remarks of Bangladesh High Commissioner to UK AH Mofazzal Karim regarding the conference.
The Daily Star report on Monday contained the statement of House of Lords member Avebury. The report was headlined 'Disappointment over HC Karim's statement'.
The rejoinder sent to The Daily Star from external publicity wing of the foreign ministry reads: "The High Commission finds it difficult to believe that the honourable Member of the House of Lords could use such unparliamentary language and would rather tend to think that the honourable Member has been misquoted by the staff correspondent."

"Moreover, it is not clear as to which of H.E. Karim's statement is referred to in the news item or which part of the speech he made on the 17th June is 'false'," reads the rejoinder.
The High Commission reiterates that the conference on Bangladesh was a pre-planned event to malign the present government and tarnish Bangladesh's image, says the rejoinder.
"The Bangladesh High Commission strongly upholds the statement of H.E. the High Commissioner to the conference to be the correct reflection of the state of affairs of Bangladesh as against the baseless, malicious and motivated propaganda launched by the organisers of the conference."
In reply, The Daily Star says that the report was based on the statement issued by Lord Averbury after the conference.

Averbury, the vice chair of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group, also said in his statement: "It is clear to me, from the High Commissioner's determination to bring in extra people who were not invited, and from the conduct of his group when they refused to accept the Chair's ruling, that their object was not to contribute to the discussion of the unacceptable human rights situation in Bangladesh but to sabotage the initiative if possible, and if not, to creating disorder by wilfully choosing not to comply with universally accepted rules of debate."

VOICE OF AMERICA
16-June-2005

SOAS to hold a Conference on Human Rights in Bangladesh
By Matiur Rahman Chowdhury
Dhaka

Bangladesh has expressed its concern on a human rights conference to be held in the School of Oriental and African Studies , in London University. Nearly 150 representatives including members from the European Parliament, human right activists, members of the Swedish parliament and the human rights’ sub-committee members will attend this one-day conference . The participants will include members of both ruling BNP and the main opposition, Awami League. The organizers of the conference says that in the present day situation one must stand for tolerance, humanism , secularism and human rights.

The Bangladesh Observer
Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Resolutions Of The European Human Rights Conference On Bangladesh

Resolution concerning the persecution of and discrimination against the religious & ethnic minorities and political opponents, civil society NGOs, journalists and other groups in Bangladesh adopted at the European Human Rights Conference on Bangladesh on 17th June 2005 at SOAS, University of London:

This European Human Rights Conference on Bangladesh,

Recognizing that religious extremism is threatening democratic institutions and constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion in Bangladesh, and thus provoking intolerance towards minority ethnic and faith communities of Bangladesh:

Noting that wherever religious extremism has arisen, it has led to violence, division, anarchy, intolerance and hatred, not only towards other communities within the state concerned, but also against people of other cultures and backgrounds:

Alarmed that the Bangladesh authorities have not only failed to stop extremist repression and violence, but have colluded with religious extremist groups to violate and usurp human rights of minority groups, namely, but not limited to, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, secular civil society members, NGOs, journalists and members of opposition parties:

Deploring the government ban on Ahmadiyya publication, which violates the freedom of religion and expression supposedly enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh:

Convinced that renaming of mosques and the burning of books and important historical documents is deeply resented and opposed by the vast majority of the people of Bangladesh;

Regretting Bangladesh Government’s abject failure to effectively investigate and prosecute the criminals responsible for violent, grenade & bomb attacks on leading members of the opposition, the British High Commissioner, arts and cultural events, members and institutions of religious minorities and others;

Calls upon the government of Bangladesh to bring to justice the perpetrators and planners of violence in Bangladesh including the attackers on Anwar Chowdhury, the British High Commissioner; and Shah AMS Kibria, the former finance minister; to halt immediately extra judicial killings and custodial tortures, and to bring to justice those responsible for throwing grenades at the rally addressed by the Leader of the Opposition, HE Sheikh Hasina on 21st August 2004, in which scores of people were killed and maimed.

Further calls on the government to halt the abuse of human rights especially of minority faith communities and civil society members;

Demands that preparations be made to ensure a free and fair election under a neutral administration, conducted by an independent election commission along with the interim government, to be chosen in consultation with the opposition;

Urges the government of Bangladesh to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, and to prevent and reverse party politicisation of the police, administration and the judiciary;

Calls upon the government of Bangladesh to repeal the 5th and 8th amendment of the Constitution and the anti minority and racist laws such as the vested property legislation;

Demands the implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord of 1997 and an end to the demographic transformation of the CHT under military occupation,

Reminds the government of Bangladesh that in accordance with the constitutional rights of the people, the ban on Ahmadiyya publication must be lifted, Ahmadiyya mosques must be restored to the community, and equal rights secured to the Ahmadiyya community and other minorities, in employment and the delivery of public services of Bangladesh.

Calls upon the government of Bangladesh to establish a permanent and independent minority and women’s rights commission.

Demands that the government of Bangladesh undertake comprehensive and transparent investigation, with the aid of international intelligence agencies, in order to bring to justice those who smuggled truckloads of illegal arms (particularly those recovered from the government controlled jetties in Chittagong port, Bogra, Kuril, Budda), including grenades, and to recover those arms which have already found their way into terrorist hands, and to publish a report on the origin of those arms, the persons and organisations involved in their smuggling.

Asks donors, including the World Bank, USAID, The EU and others, who will be participating in the Bangladesh Development Forum 2006, to concentrate on good governance, and in particular, on the maintenance of stable democracy in Bangladesh, based on respect for human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

Decides to establish a European civil society network to monitor the progress of Bangladesh towards compliance with international human rights standards, to make representations to governments and to the UN Human Rights Commission and to hold further meetings.

(The conference was held on 17 June 2005 at SOAS (School of Oriental & African Studies), University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, UK)

Press Statement By Lord Avebury, Vice-Chair, UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group

Lord Avebury, Vice Chair of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group, and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the ‘European Human Rights Conference on Bangladesh’ held in SOAS, University of London on 17th June 2005, has issued the following statement in response to allegations of the Bangladesh High Commissioner in London.

I am disappointed by the false statement issued by the H E Mr A H Mofazzal Karim, Bangladesh High Commissioner in London about the holding and conduct of the one day conference on Bangladesh. The UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group was one of the sponsors of this Conference and its aim was to provide an opportunity for a factual analysis of the very serious problems affecting secular political parties/groups as well as ethnic & religious minorities in context of the growing extremism and the worrying culture of impunity in Bangladesh.

These are areas of legitimate and continuing interest for the UK Parliament as well as the international community and it was hoped that the Bangladesh Government would use the occasion of the Conference to provide its inputs and engage in a constructive and mature manner.

We were very fair to the Government of Bangladesh in allotting them two slots in the Conference whereas all other Groups including even the main opposition party, the Awami League were given only one slot filled by its representative, Saber Chowdhury.

The meeting did not "break up in disarray" but continued till 18:00 as scheduled and was participated by all including Advocate Sigma Huda.

All participants agreed the Conference was an outstanding success in bringing together representatives of all the beleaguered and persecuted groups, and in agreeing to further the initiative of the Conference by forming an international network.

The High Commissioner was interrupted during his presentation by other participants when he tried to assert there was no violation of human rights in Bangladesh and later on, in response to questions when he stated that "many" BNP MPs were assassinated during the 1996-2001 Awami League term of office. The participants also objected when he appeared to assert that the rights of the Ahmadiyyas were less important, because they were less numerous.

But the Chair of Plenary session, Professor Werner Menski had no difficulty in maintaining order and in fact allowed the High Commissioner additional time to compensate for the interruptions.

There was a disturbance in the afternoon Plenary Session when the second of the two Government speakers, Advocate Khondker Mahbubuddin Ahmed MP refused to accept the ruling of the Chair, Lord Dholakia, that his time was up. All the Speakers were strictly limited to ten minutes but the Chair had allowed Mr. Ahmed an additional five minutes.

The High Commissioner had been alerted in writing on three occasions that a list of five persons named by him were invited to attend the Conference but he brought along an additional five, and together they shouted and protested the ruling of the Chair as Mr. Ahmed sought to continue his speech. Some people in the audience shouted back. The High Commissioner and his party then withdrew.

Professor Mable Gomes was one of the five people invited at the request of the High Commissioner and although she had asked questions in the morning Plenary and participated actively till then, she also left with him, forfeiting opportunity to participate in the afternoon workshops.

It is clear to me, from the High Commissioner's determination to bring in extra people who were not invited, and from the conduct of his group when they refused to accept the Chair's ruling, that their object was not to contribute to the discussion of the unacceptable human rights situation in Bangladesh but to sabotage the initiative if possible, and if not, to creating disorder by wilfully choosing not to comply with universally accepted rules of debate.

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