THIS is disheartening and morally perplexing to see relatives of victims of enforced disappearances holding protests between their visiting the headquarters of the law enforcement agencies seeking information on members of the families while the government has so far taken no decisive steps to end their unimaginable sufferings. It has been public knowledge that the now-deposed Awami League regime systematically allowed the law enforcement agencies and security forces to use enforced disappearances as a tool to suppress political opposition, silence dissents and create a climate of fear to sustain the authoritarian rule. In the past decade, members of the families have related their ordeal, saying that they had no place to seek legal redress, but their plea faced the AL-led government鈥檚 blatant denial. The fall of the regime and the return of three such victims confirmed the long-denied allegation of enforced disappearances, which ignited hope among the relatives. They have gathered in Dhaka from across the country to finally have some answers. However, it appears that they are facing the same silence that they have done under the Awami League rule.
According to human rights organisations, security forces have committed more than 600 enforced disappearances since 2009. While some people were later released, produced in court, or said to have died during an armed exchange with security forces, about 100 people still remain missing. Immediately after the fall of the Awami regime, Mayer Daak, a platform for members of families of the victims of enforced disappearances, urged the interim government to put out a call to facilitate the safe return of their loved ones. On August 6, when a co-founder of the Mayer Daak met the Director General of Forces Intelligence along with the UN resident coordinator, the director assured that they would come up with an update on the people held in secret detention centres. On August 7, the agency told a delegation of rights defenders that they would form a joint commission to inspect 23 other facilities across the country to see if the victims of enforced disappearances were there. On August 13, when several Mayer Daak members wanted to meet the interim government鈥檚 chief adviser, security forces blocked their way. The home affairs adviser generically condemned the use of police like 鈥榢illers and henchmen鈥� and expressed interest in major police reforms but failed to recognise the sufferings and agony of the relatives of enforced disappearances. Meanwhile, harrowing experiences of the victims who survived the torture in secret detention centres, referred to as 鈥榓aynaghar鈥�, are published by the media.
The government must, therefore, immediately form a joint commission and consider involving jurists and rights defenders to ensure its integrity and credibility, publish a full list of the victims of enforced disappearances and bring errant law enforcers to justice for their criminal misconduct, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killing and custodial torture. The new government must also consider forming an independent body to review the political apparatuses of repression through which gross rights violations were made possible and to recommend preventive steps for the future.
