Dhaka, June 29 (IANS) Bangladesh's Awami League has strongly condemned the killing of its Chhatra League and Jubo League leaders and activists, alleging that their bodies were dumped into the Turag River in Dhaka.
The latest incident comes amid escalating attacks on Awami League members that began during the 18-month tenure of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and have continued under the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) administration.
In a statement shared on its social media platform X, the Awami League said, "You have witnessed how decomposed and partially decomposed bodies have been recovered one after another from the Turag River. The Turag has become a heartbreaking symbol of tragedy, resembling a new Karbala, a place of mass killing."
According to the statement, the victims were targetted because of their political identities as leaders and activists of the party's student and youth wings.
"But a dead body has no political identity. Does a political activist not have the right to live a normal and secure life?" it questioned.
The Awami League alleged that over the past two years its leaders and activists have been indiscriminately killed in public “simply for expressing their political beliefs and affiliations”, adding that the situation has made “the entire country unsafe”.
It also stated that the ordinary people no longer feel secure and alleged that more than 600 people were killed during the new government's first 100 days in office.
The Awami League said that not only the Turag River but the whole of Bangladesh has become “a dumping ground for bodies”. It alleged that murder, rape, theft, robbery, muggings, and even attacks inside family homes have become everyday occurrences, describing them as reflections of poor governance and lawlessness.
The party further claimed that “when terrorism is nurtured under state patronage, justice cannot prevail and society inevitably descends into violence".
Condemning the killings of the Awami League activists, an international human rights organisation, Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), called for the establishment of an independent, impartial, credible, and internationally compliant commission of inquiry, led by a judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, with the participation and oversight of international human rights experts.
"The alleged torture, killing, and disposal of bodies in a river solely because individuals held a particular political belief or participated in a peaceful political programme constitute an extremely grave violation of human rights. The pattern bears disturbing similarities to the culture of mob violence and politically motivated killings that emerged during the previous interim administration," said Shahanur Islam, Founder President of JMBF.
“Allegations suggest that the current BNP-led government is witnessing a new manifestation of that same pattern. If these allegations are substantiated through an independent investigation, all those responsible must be brought to justice, and the government must be held accountable for fulfilling its constitutional and international human rights obligations,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh police have termed the claims circulating on social media about the bodies of seven supporters of the Awami League floating in the Turag River in Dhaka as "baseless", local media reported.
"Efforts are being made to spread confusion among the public by disseminating baseless information on social media under the headline ‘Seven Awami League-Chhatra League leaders and activists’ bodies are floating in the Turag River.' In reality, no such incident has been reported. The Bangladesh Police urges everyone not to be misled by such false propaganda," Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo quoted the police authorities as saying.
Reports suggested that attempts by the Awami League and its affiliated student wing, the Chhatra League, to hold processions in various parts of the country to mark the party's 77th anniversary were met with resistance from law enforcement. Several people were also taken into custody at different locations, including in the capital.
Amid the developments, claims surfaced on social media through several Awami League supporters' pages and profiles alleging that seven Awami League activists were detained during the procession, killed, and their bodies dumped into the Turag River.
--IANS
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