POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Apr 14, 2022 : The government has questioned the veracity of the State Department’s human rights report. The report, published last Tuesday night, contains various allegations of human rights violations in Bangladesh.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs. Shahriar Alam said, “The report has taken information from anti-government propaganda. We will have a series of meetings next Sunday and then with the US government to discuss this report.
I would like to know everything from them. We will also tell them what our position is. ‘
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan also thinks that there is a discrepancy in the report of the US State Department. According to him, the report that has been published is not of this period. And if any member of the country’s security forces commits a crime, disciplinary action is taken against him.
The Home Minister said, “The number of disappearances and murders mentioned in the report in 2021 is not in our record. If someone is killed in a gunfight by our security forces, even if the security forces shoot in self-defense, an executive magistrate investigates every incident. Accordingly, we decide the matter or send it to the judiciary. ‘
Regarding the police and RAB officials who are in jail for the crime, the Home Minister said, “A sufficient number of security personnel are in jail. Many members of RAB are also in jail. This means that no one is above justice. I think they (the United States) have misrepresented what they did. ‘
The report states that the security forces are being used for political purposes. In this regard, the Home Minister said, ‘It would have happened when the BNP was in power. Ever since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took charge of the country, if any kind of injustice-torture is done by the security forces, she is being brought before the law. That is what I have repeatedly said. ‘
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said that the report was being reviewed. “There is no law in Bangladesh for LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and Bangladesh is not able to meet their needs,” the state minister told reporters in this part of the report. Show a Muslim country in the world that approves LGBT. It will be opposed with the people of Bangladesh, it will be opposed with religion. ‘
Regarding the information given about BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in the US report, the state minister said, “The history of Khaleda Zia’s case has also been brought here. He has been called a political prisoner. He is not a political prisoner. Every time we have talked about this in the international arena, we have answered all the questions. He was released from prison on humanitarian grounds and allowed to stay at home. ‘
Claiming that misinformation has also been given about Rohingyas, the state minister said, “Some Rohingyas drowned while fleeing from Bhasanchar. Is it our fault? The blame has been placed on our necks. “If anyone in the world comes to teach us humanity on the Rohingya question, we think they have lost their morals,” he said. ‘
United States response
A US embassy official said the human rights report was prepared by sorting through information from various sources. This is not a policy statement of the United States government. However, this report is used by the governments of many countries, including the United States.
“We must work together to build respect for human rights,” said Peter de Hauss, the US ambassador to Afghanistan. We need to talk honestly about the challenges we will face. The progress of the human rights situation begins with information. ‘
