Announcement of roadmap after discussion with politicians: M Sakhawat
September 29, 20245 Mins Read
Jumbangla Desk: Brigadier General (Retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain, advisor to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute and Naval, said that the roadmap will be made after many tasks have been determined. Just two months, during which some are messing up here, some are messing up there. There is another terrible flood in between. The administration has to be reorganized. Hope to have the roadmap very soon.

m-shakhwat

The political parties have been called, the commissions that have been made will also be called. The roadmap will be announced only through discussions with politicians.

Sakhawat Hossain also said, we are trying, six reforms have been mentioned. These are major reforms. Not in three days or three months. Those who are in charge of these will surely discuss with the political parties. These will not be sustainable if they are not discussed with politicians. He said all these things at a discussion meeting organized by the Center for Governance Studies (CGS) on Saturday.

The discussion meeting was held on 'Dialogue for Democratic Reconstruction-Human Rights Context' in the auditorium of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies in the capital.

Sakhawat Hossain said, after seeing the activities of the police during the student movement, I did not think that they were the police of our country. How did police guns get into the hands of people in civilian clothes? Where did they get the 7.62 rifle? These matters need to be investigated. From 2009 to 2023, 1 thousand 48 deaths occurred in police custody. He said, there must be reforms in the police. They themselves have raised the demand for reform. I am very firm on the formation of police commission.

This advisor said, Awami League has done horrible things like Nazis. Nowhere have so many people died in such a short time. For this, Sheikh Hasina must be brought to justice. If necessary, a separate trial should be constituted. I think there is no need to bring back the accused. They should be tried in absentia like the Nuremberg trials. There is all the evidence of murder. Sheikh Hasina will be tried as a guide.

He said DGFI's job was to deal with inter-force security breaches. But with time it has changed. If the government did not fall on the 5th, I and my people would have been imprisoned in the mirror room.

He said, since the name of the Ministry of Shipping has the word 'ship', I will propose to change the name of this Ministry to the Ministry of Ship Ports. Whichever party comes to power in our country, they hold on to that power. The Political Party Act will be dealt with. He said, neutral civil society should be built, I will appeal to politicians, you help to build civil society.

CGS chairperson Munira Khan said, "During the previous government, we did not see that the Human Rights Commission did much work in maintaining transparency according to the new rules." We have to work on how we act, what we do not fall into the hands of dictatorship. The interim government should give necessary time for reforms.

Executive Director of Law and Arbitration Center. Noor Khan Liton 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 culmination of fifteen years of continuous movement. The recent past is discussed, not the past. The government should preserve the facilities in which people were kept in hiding like mirror rooms, torture cells. Over 6,000 crossfires have occurred in the past 15 years. Those who were under investigation at that time need to be added as accused.

Advocate Elina Khan, a Supreme Court lawyer, said that many issues need to be reformed in order to reform the law. Police Commission should be formed. If this commission is not formed, the question of impartial investigation remains. There is no benefit if the party judges, party judges and party members do not come out. There are laws but no enforcement. Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Executive President of Gano Forum said, We also had a lot of hope after the mass uprising of 1969. The commission was there before. But there is politicization. Even after the popular uprising of 1990, we were hopeful, but we did not get 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.

Supreme Court lawyer Dilruba Sharmin said, Human Rights Commission was formed with bureaucrats during the previous dictatorial government. There was no representation of lawyers, law enforcement agencies in the Human Rights Commission. Institutions that are involved in wrongdoing cannot investigate. There should be an independent investigation agency. Organized crime has been committed. As a result, it is necessary to bring the subordinates of the government to justice.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan said, when we talk about human rights, we talk about the application of law. But the main issue of human rights is humanity. Human Rights Commission or other body created as subordinate to the government. If they cannot work as independent organizations, these organizations must remain submissive.

Bobby Hajjaz, Chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement, said that if the law was properly applied in our country, this discussion would not have been necessary. How do we want to establish the rights of minorities? That needs to be discussed. Laws, judiciary, law enforcement agencies need to be reformed. Cultural reforms are also needed during reforms. If not, mob justice will increase.

Convener of 'Mother's Call' Sanjida Islam said, "Since last August 5, we have been able to talk about disappearances and extrajudicial killings." In the past 12 years, when the government repeatedly said through national and international channels, there is nothing missing in Bangladesh, then what was the work of the Human Rights Commission? They have not done any other work except to send a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman also spoke, Supreme Court Lawyer Barrister Ahsan Habib Bhuiyan, AB Party Joint Member Secretary Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, Political Analyst Ashraf Qaiser, Political Observer Saleh Ahmed, Kapeng Foundation Executive Director Palab Chakma, Women's Rights Activist Ilira Dewan, Adhikar Worker Jaya Shikder, General Secretary of Public Rights Council Rashed Khan, Jagannath University student representative Naima Akhter Rita, Jahangirnagar University student representative Tauhid Siam and General Secretary of G Nine. Sakhawat Hossain Sayanth and others.