Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Acting Secretary General Maulana ATM Masum has issued the following statement marking International Day of Democracy which is going to be observed on 15th September.
International Day of Democracy which is going to be observed on 15th September. Democracy ensures freedom, equality, rule of law and citizen’s rights among the people. In absence of democracy, rule of law, human rights and freedom of speech becomes squeezed. Bangladeshi people are now deprived from equality, citizen’s rights, social safety, justice and voting rights as there is no sign of democracy here. People are becoming the victims of false cases, abduction, enforced disappearance and murder frequently.
Human rights are very important to facilitate the welfare of the people. Earlier, on last 15th August, Tom Lanton Human Rights Commission, a platform under the lower house of the US Congress organized a briefing titled ‘Human Rights in Bangladesh: An Update.” That briefing expressed deep concern over the human rights situation of the country. They stated that, the freedom and liberty of the people of Bangladesh are at stake due to frequent incident of extra judicial killings, enforced disappearance, lack of judicial freedom, torture against journalists and bloggers and curbing the freedom of press, speech and usage of internet. The people with dissident views are being arrested, harassed and intimidated often.
The incumbent government has turned Bangladesh into a nation without democracy. They have concealed all ways to elect public representatives. The government has snatched citizen’s basic rights away. Jamaat-e-Islami, in particular, has become the worst victim of repression by the current regime. Hundreds of thousands of activists have been taken into custody and police remands in connection with false cases. The directives of the High Court are regularly being disobeyed. Even the detainees are not being released despite securing bail from the higher court. Rather, the detainees are rearrested in line with fresh false cases.
To build an effective and democratic nation, we have to get rid of the undemocratic activities of the incumbent government. To do so, I am urging the people of all sections to take part in the ongoing movement to restore caretaker government in a bid to hold a free, fair and credible election.
