Cases of human rights violation

Accounts of police brutalities have been frequently noted in the media in recent months. In one such recent case, the officer-in-charge of a police station in a district in south-eastern part of the country had allegedly allowed a sixteen year old boy to be virtually put into the hands of a mob for beating him to death. One may recall in this connection a similar earlier allegation against the police in which six youngsters, all students of different educational institutions in Dhaka, were beaten to death allegedly in the presence of the police at a place on the outskirts of the city. Incidents such as the above, are very worrying, to say the least. The same also represent the worst cases of human rights violations. Human rights organizations and civil society in Bangladesh have been loud in their advocacy of proper observance of human rights by the police but to no effect, so far. The people in general in Bangladesh in such cases had long ago ceased to have regard and faith in the police except for a while during the time of the immediate past government when a number of police reforms were forced through and sustained. The same included assured response of the police to people's request for help and their paying attention to human rights. But the impact of the reforms seemed to wear off even before the exit of the caretakers. Now, things have gone back to square one or, as some observers say, the police have sunk to the lowest depth of depravity and are being used to serve narrow partisan political interests in the eyes of the people. A large number of cases of custodial deaths have occurred over the last two and a year or more. Persons under detention in police stations were allegedly tortured and they succumbed to their injuries although police authorities tried their best to cover up for these incidents by saying they were already sick or injured when taken into custody. But in such a state, prisoners are sent to hospitals and not kept in police stations. This government is not without attainments. But its image seem threatened by its record of human rights violations. Taimur A K Mahmood Green Road Dhaka. Two city corporations in Dhaka! It is shocking to learn that Dhaka City Corporation has been divided into South City Corporation and North City Corporation and there would be separate mayors for each corporation, but for whose benefit or gain? Would it be beneficial and good for the city dwellers and help solve their civic problems and improve basic facilities and amenities? It will not. We find no justification, no wisdom in slicing Dhaka City Corporation into two halves for the sake of party politics. It would multiply our numerous difficulties and problems, create divisions, administrative and bureaucratic bottlenecks, and more and more non-coordination and non-cooperation among various service organisations and agencies like Rajuk, WASA, Titas, Electricity and also the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). As a result there would be more wastage of time, energy and public money. Instead of dividing Dhaka City Corporation we should have strengthen, and widen the powers and functions and jurisdiction and also streamline and improve the present city corporation. If we divide Dhaka City Corporation now what would the future of Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal and Khulna city corporations? In the greater interest of public service our government may kindly rescind its recent decision to cut historic Dhaka into pieces which is harmful to our country and people. O H Kabir Wari, Dhaka Peace in Palestine? A write-up on the subject published in a section of media on October 31 highlighted the double standard of USA. It is evident, that in matters serving Israel's interest, USA ignores all norms of democracy. On this mater; possibly demon-cracy becomes the US governing principle! Arm in arm; these two despotic US and Israel are bedfellows in subjugating Palestine. USA merrily goes along exploiting the natural resources of Middle East countries; where diplomacy fails; dubious lies like the case of nuclear weapons in Iraq; leads to armed subjugation; with the whitewash to free Iraqi people! Faith, honesty, principles and rights are thrown to the wolves; while they (US and Israel) merrily savage peaceful countries! It was only in North Korea; that they had to pay a high price which halted US efforts for subjugation or resources there! As for Israel; whatever they want, they take, directly or through US support and influence; while they (Israel) act as the faithful partner of USA! This trend will not change; given today's political and economic dynamics. S A Mansoor Dhaka Freedom of Speech I had very thoughtful discussions with two government officials who came to Canada for attending UN conferences. What I have understood during the long discussions about the present trend of politics and the role of our government and the media are very heart breaking. The right to freedom of speech is one of the most important democratic rights. It enables the flow of information and encourages diversity of opinion in the public sphere, as well as criticism of political leadership, all of which are in the public interest. But like most freedoms, it is not absolute, nor should it be. Is there a concept more subjective than "hate"? What my neighbour may see as a "hateful" rant, I might see as a caustic, yet legitimate, comment. A law founded on the concept of "hate" is in itself unacceptable, especially in a society that pretends to respect freedom of opinion. Change in many countries hinges on their people's being able to enjoy two basic rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: freedom of expression and assembly. Totalitarian rulers have denied their people these rights. Emergency laws that have been on the books for decades have allowed detention without civilian trial and denied citizens the basic right to demonstrate. Freedom of expression has been gagged by repressive laws, as well as by government monopolies over the mass media. Governments also use censorship or soft sponsorship to control local media content. And draconian laws prevent criticism of local institutions and leaders, as well as friendly governments. Courage is contagious, and the courage observed in the capital as well as Narayanganj streets is spilling over to other cities. But while our youths are learning from the actions of their compatriots, our rulers are learning from what happened to their fellow leaders. Gopal Sengupta Canada