Rights grp accuses Bangla of abuses over curfew

Washington, Aug 26: A US based rights group accused Bangladesh of human rights abuses and urged authorities to abide by international standards as it enforces a curfew triggered by widespread student unrest.

''The demonstrations currently taking place in Bangladesh come after eight months of repressive emergency rule, which has restricted the rights to protest and to seek a legal remedy, and fails to respect basic due process rights,'' Human Rights Watch said in a statement yesterday.

The interim administration took over in January with a promise to hold free and fair elections late next year. It imposed emergency measures to restore order after widespread violence led to the scrapping of elections in January.

A nationwide state of emergency has been in place ever since, allowing the administration curb political activity and launch an anti-graft campaign that has netted scores of senior figures.

''What sparked these protests is the ongoing repression of emergency rule, and the government's heavy-handed response is like oil on a fire,'' said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

''While the protesters should remain peaceful and must exercise restraint to prevent loss to life and property, the government should immediately address some of their legitimate concerns instead of arbitrarily arresting people, beating detainees and fueling anger,'' she added in the statement.

The interim government dismissed the group's comments. ''We are doing everything constitutionally and legally.

There is no question of human rights violations,'' the government's law and information adviser, Mainul Husein, told Reuters.

''Those who were alleged for violation of law have been produced before the court within 24 hours for legal decision. Let the HRW pin point where we are violating (human rights). If they can, we will rectify ourselves.'' The curfew, which shut down public transport, schools, banks, clinics and pharmacies, was imposed in Dhaka and five other cities on Wednesday after student-led protests against the presence of troops on the Dhaka University campus turned violent and spread across the country.

One man was killed and nearly 300 were injured in clashes with security forces in Dhaka and other cities before the curfew was declared.

Calm has largely been restored and the country's army-backed interim government relaxed the curfew further today. The government said there would be no curfew in the capital Dhaka and five other main cities for 18 hours to 2230 hrs (ist) today, against 17 hours yesterday.

Life and businesses have since returned to normal with traffic back on the streets and shops reopening in Dhaka.

Police said they had initiated cases against more than 87,000 students across the country for suspected involvement in the recent unrest.

So far, they had arrested 17 people, accusing them of participating in, or instigating, the violence that political analysts said could be an attempt to destabilise the interim government.

Authorities said today all public universities and colleges would remain closed indefinitely, while private campuses could decide when they would reopen ''The recent unrest was a conspiracy, which the government was able to foil by timely intervention and tough actions,'' army chief General Moeen U Ahmed said yesterday.

Human Rights Watch said authorities had detained more than 250,000 people since the caretaker government took over in January.

''Since the imposition of emergency rule, Bangladeshi armed forces have been responsible for abuses such as arbitrary detention, torture and deaths in custody. The emergency laws limit access to effective remedies, including the right to bail and the right to challenge the lawfulness of a detention,'' the statement said.

Reuters>