Political observers and academics have reiterated the need for cross-checking the veracity of Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) claims of wholesale rights violations by the government and law enforcement agencies. The party, seeking foreign intervention, is perpetuating a narrative that lacks objectivity and is riddled with inaccuracies, they are of the opinion.
The leadership has also never acknowledged involvement of party men in arson attacks and violence that have affected many, they observed.
“Any responsible global power or international organization should not rely solely on BNP’s accounts to reach a conclusion in any situation. Rather, a comprehensive cross-checking system should be in place,” said Prof Mesbah Kamal of the History Department at Dhaka University.
“Without adequately verifying, if any foreign country or organization acts on any allegation raised by a political party, they run the risk of losing credibility. Such practice should be avoided unless the country or organization does not care about appearing biased,” he added.
During the recent blockades, video reports emerged of BNP’s senior leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi leading a sudden rally in Dhaka from which picketers threw brickbats at buses and other vehicles.
Read: Govt is not harassing anyone on political grounds: Momen
Just a day before, the BNP leader told media that Awami League could be carrying out acts of sabotage to divert public attention.
On November 28, at an event organized by the opposition party, family members said that Hafsa Akter, mother of two children, has been arrested by the police. The children had not seen their mother in days and their father, Abdul Hamid Bhuiyan — involved in BNP politics — has also been away from home to avoid arrest since BNP's grand rally in Dhaka on October 28.
A newspaper report quoted Abdul Hamid’s father saying that police were looking for his son, and unable to find him, they took away his son’s wife, Hafsa.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police, however, has protested this claim. Released CCTV footage carried by TV report shows a man identified as Abdul Hamid going to a Dhaka court where he “exploded a cocktail.” A woman and a child were accompanying Abdul Hamid at the time, and the woman was later identified as Hafsa.
Following the death of Shahidul Islam, President of the Gazipur branch of Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, on June 25, local BNP leaders reportedly approached his wife and asked her to join their anti-government movement.
Read: No scope to change party decision over independent candidates: Quader
Mayer Daak is known as a platform of the families of victims of enforced disappearance allegedly by government agencies. It consists of grieving family members who are still waiting for their loved ones. There are, however, allegations that BNP is leveraging the tragedy of these families to push the anti-government agenda.
Shafiqullah Monaem, a Bangladesh Chhatra League activist from Barishal, went missing in 2007 when the military-backed caretaker government took charge of the country.
Referring to Mayer Daak, Monaem’s brother said, “How can they call themselves free of bias and credible when they refuse to talk about the families who lost their loved ones during other regimes?”
The elderly mother of Moazzem Hossain Tapu, who went missing from Dhaka years later, said, “They asked me to attend political rallies of BNP, but I refused to join.”
“Involvement of state or non-state actors in disappearances need to be investigated but global bodies should not rely entirely on accounts of certain political parties,” said Prof Mizanur Rahman, who teaches law at Dhaka University and is a former Chair of National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh.
“We have also seen reports of re-appearances of many youths who earlier joined militant groups,” he added.
Political observers also referred to the case of BNP leaders bringing a man named Mian Arefy to the party’s central office in Dhaka for a press conference where Arefy introduced himself as an “advisor to US President Joe Biden” and assured BNP and Jamaat of “support from the US President to ensure regime change in Bangladesh.”
Later at the DB office, Arefy said that he “only followed instructions he received at the BNP office.”