UN rights office calls for ending 'deepening, disturbing' political violence in Bangladesh

The United Nations human rights office has urged all political parties in Bangladesh to show restraint and immediately end the 'deepening and disturbing' political violence.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 16 Jan 2015, 03:47 PM
Updated : 16 Jan 2015, 04:27 PM

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also called the Bangladesh government to ensure 'impartial and effective investigation to all killings' that occurred during recent violence across the country.

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani at a press briefing Friday in Geneva said, “The deepening political violence in Bangladesh, resulting from the failure of the two major political parties to resolve their differences peacefully, is very disturbing."

“We also call on the authorities to ensure the prompt, impartial and effective investigation of all killings committed – irrespective of whether they were committed by State or non-State actors.”

It expressed concern over “the rising levels of political violence rippling across Bangladesh” and cited fears that the country could “return to a state of destructive brinkmanship seen in the run up to the country's 2014 elections”.

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani

“We are concerned about the potential for the violence, which already led to deaths, injury and disruption, to spiral,” she added.

The UN agency recalled that in late 2013, before the elections, clashes left scores of people dead, hundreds injured, and caused extensive damage to property, prompting the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to urge the country's political leaders to set their differences aside.

She had also called for a halt to the “destructive brinkmanship” and use their influence to ease the unrest.

The UN rights office said the “rampant use” of arson attacks on vehicles was “particularly disturbing”.

It cited a recent incident in which a crowded public bus was set on fire, resulting in the immolation deaths of four people including one child. The same day, the BNP chairperson’s Adviser Reaz Rahman was shot and his car set on fire.

The OHCHR spokesperson also urged the government to ensure that all arrests and detentions of key opposition leaders were “not arbitrary”.

It further asked the authorities to make sure that all measures taken to restore law and order are “conducted in line with the parameters set by international human rights law, including respect for the freedoms of peaceful assembly, movement and speech”.