'Roadmap will be announced only through discussion with politicians'
September 28, 20244 Mins Read

Jumbangla Desk: Brigadier General (Retd.) Advisor to Ministry of Textiles and Jute and Ministry of Navy. M Sakhawat Hossain said that the roadmap will be announced through discussions with politicians. He also demanded the formation of an independent police commission in the country.

He said these things in a seminar at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) auditorium on Saturday (September 28) at 9:30 am.

Brigadier General (Retd.) Dr. M Sakhawat Hossain said, I am very firm in the formation of police commission. How did police weapons go into the hands of people in plain clothes? It needs to be investigated. The function of the DGFI was to deal with inter-force security breaches, which has changed over time. If the government had not fallen on August 5, I and my companions would have been imprisoned in the mirror room.

He also said that the Political Party Act will be worked on. I will propose to change the name of the Ministry of Shipping to the Ministry of Shipping and Ports. From 2009 to 2023, 1,048 deaths occurred in police custody. We all have to work to ensure safety during Durga Puja ahead.

Munira Khan said, we have to give this government the necessary time for reforms. Let us not be impatient, let us not be impatient, we all need to have a positive attitude.

Zillur Rahman said, we should talk about reconstruction even if the reform is abandoned. The crisis of human rights was and still is in this country. We want to know, what specific reforms are needed to increase the independence and effectiveness of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh? What measures can be taken to prevent harassment and abuse by elite law enforcement units like the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and various intelligence agencies?

Pallava Chakma said that even though there is a regional office of the Human Rights Commission, it is not able to work in the protection of human rights because people do not know about it. No one is talking about the discrimination that Santals are constantly suffering in Rajshahi.

Md. Noor Khan said, we have to go back to our politicians and political parties at the end of the day. There is no transparency in the functioning of the Human Rights Commission. This July-August movement is the final form of fifteen years of continuous movement. The recent past is discussed, not the past. The government should preserve the facilities where people were kept hidden, mirror rooms, torture cells. Over 6,000 crossfires have occurred in the past 15 years. Those who were under investigation at the time, need to be added as accused. Let's talk about how we're making law enforcement into cold-blooded killers. Many officers from the lowest to the highest ranks of the army have gone missing, we did not know. Human rights organizations should be allowed to work independently to get out of this situation.

Jaya Shikder said, I never got acceptance as a transgender person. We are socially abused by people. We were expelled from the family, we could not present any claim to the state. The reports about us by international organizations never made it to the media.

Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad said that it is necessary to read the declaration of state formation before reforming the state. Reform begins by correcting wrongs. The current government has not formed an inquiry commission after the movement. It is necessary to form a committee on Pilkhana genocide, custody genocide as soon as possible.

Advocate Subrata Chowdhury said, we also had a lot of hope after the popular uprising of 1969. The commission was there before, but it has been politicized. Even after the mass coup of 1990, we had hope, but we did not get any results. The character of the state should be changed. The involvement of the youth in the reform of the state should be worked on. If students cannot be used to rebuild the state, then we have failed as a nation.

Advocate Elina Khan said, I am worried about the judicial system. About eight hundred people died, that's how many cases were supposed to be filed. In order to work on the reform of the law, many issues need to be reformed.

Besides, among the speakers were CGS Chair Munira Khan, Kapeng Foundation Executive Director Pallab Chakma, Bangladesh Supreme Court Lawyer Advocate Elina Khan, Gano Forum Executive President Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Law and Arbitration Center Executive Director Md. Noor Khan, Trans Women Rights Activist Jaya Shikder, Supreme Court Lawyer Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan, Political Analyst Ashraf Qaiser, Nationalist Democratic Movement Chairman Bobby Hajjaz, Women Rights Activist Ilira Dewan, 'Mother's Call' Convener Sanjida Islam, AB Party Joint Member Secretary Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, Bangladesh Supreme Court Advocate Dilruba Sharmin, Jagannath University Student Representative Naima Akhtar Rita, Jahangirnagar University Student Representative Tauhid Siam, Political Observer Saleh Ahmed, General Secretary of the People's Rights Council Rashed Khan, Bangladesh Supreme Court Advocate Barrister Ahsan Habib Bhuiyan and G Nainer. General Secretary Dr. Sakhawat Hossain Sayanth. The program was moderated by CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman.