Thu 26 Jun 2008
We, the average citizens, do not protest when some of us lynch dacoits to death once in a while.
We, the law enforcements officers, kill the “criminals” in crossfire in stead of taking them to court time to time.
We, the military intelligence, torture activists and journalists for their writing time to time.
We, the politicians, kill our opponents for supremacy time to time.
We, the civil society, look the other way when a ‘bad politician’ has his spine broken in protective custody.
Today is anti torture day. Let’s look at ourselves and pledge once and for all that torture and extra judicial killing can never be condoned and must be strongly protested no matter on whom its being inflicted upon. Ask a simple question — What if it was me?
The culture of violence and impunity has to stop.
Pictures: Daily Star, HRW and Tacit
June 26th, 2008 at 11:16 am
The moment someone brings this issue up, he/she is accused of being either a “criminal sympathizer” or “Hasina/Khaleda crony” or a tratitor. That is why I am not very optimistic that we will get out of this torture culture anytime soon……….
Regarding lynchings, there is a lot of frustration faced by common people and lynchings give them the chance to vent their anger by killing someone…..you will rarely see well-off people participating in such forms of justice.
I am just worried of the day when a group of people will jump at a person (for not giving his sister for marriage or for not giving tolls) and shout chor chor ending in the guy losing his life…..
June 26th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I don’t know..it seems to me that we,Bangladeshis, in general, tend to condone torture. Despite having ratified the treaty, our rulers have little regard for it. And the ‘man on the street’ doesn’t really care for a treaty he can’t read.
We protest when the ones we side with are tortured and then turn a blind eye when others get tortured at the hands of those we side with. When the common man gets tortured some of us protest, and when this man lynches his perpetrator to death, we turn our backs and call it justice! Why bother with the rule of law then?
What else would explain the apparent civil society apathy to political prisoners? Have they not been selective in condemning torture? The Daily Star in it’s op-ed has to actually lay out the backgroud of tareque’s alleged crimes before they can even begin to bring up the issue of ‘alleged’torture. Remember how these guys were vocal against torture pre-1/11?
With regards to the masses– shouldn’t the whole anti-torture ideology have a top-down approach? If all our institutions condone violence and torture, what message are we sending out to the masses? When torture happens while in custody and perpetrated by those we entrust with our security, the masses probably get the message that it is a generally acceptable conduct, if inflicted upon the ‘right’ person at the right time and for the right cause. And sure, people get away with it!
If a guy is tortured to death for being a chor, starting from the people at the top, the standard reaction would be ‘chor e to chilo, churi korechilo! gorib manush ra to marbein!’Has any government said that they condemn torture? Can we get the army to take part in the anti-torture andolon?
What if it was me, you ask? That would depend on a number of things now, wouldn’t it? Depends on my cause and which side I take. The ones on my side, would readily condemn it; the ones I stand against, would just turn a blind eye.
If I had been against ‘human rights’ and was a Milosevic re-incarnate, how many people, in this forum, would condemn torture inflicted on me?If I had raped, murdered and pillaged, and then been brutally murdered at the hands of my victims,would you write me an eulogy?
June 27th, 2008 at 6:14 am
We need the REAL rule of law which will be applicable first on the members of law enforcing agencies, if there was any order of priority.
No matter what the political situation is, law enforcing agencies and the justice system should be blind and just in applying the laws on whoever the perpetrator is.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Torture is acceptable for most bangladeshi people because the political system has failed. democracy is the best system in the world but we bengali peoples have turned it so that people sigh relief when military takes over!
June 28th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Two most frequent forms of violence must also be listed here, remembering ‘what if it was you’:
1) Daily non-stop violence against Bangladeshi villagers being TRAFFICKED across the border. Tens of THOUSANDS trafficked per year from Bangladesh.
2) Mindless vandalism and killing by college students in Dhaka because of a vehicle accident, or even a ‘rumour’ of some accident! Why is this form of violence acceptable? and why more severe discipline not rendered to such crime?
example:
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/06/29/news0969.htm