25 June 2023

Acting Chairman of BNP, Mr. Tariq Rahman, gave the following message on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture:-

Message

The International Day in Support of Victims, declared by the United Nations on 26 June, is very significant. The importance of this day is immense in the context of today's world, including Bangladesh. Although nations have gained independence from colonial rule after World War II, the violence and bloodshed have not stopped. There is bloodshed of violence and conflict at various levels all over the world. Due to conflicts and enmity, ordinary people are being killed and maimed in different countries, and many people of opposing viewpoints are suffering from severe torture due to the repressive policies of authoritarian ruling governments in different countries. Many activists are suffering years in prison in trumped-up cases. In these cases, the state builds the infrastructure of torture. The responsibility of the state is to ensure the safety of all citizens. Where a cruel and authoritarian government runs the state, the people are subject to the state's inhuman revenge and are being oppressed in various ways. Today's world has advanced in mechanical civilization, but human civilization has not progressed much. Democracy is now a prisoner in Bangladesh; terrible misrule is happening here. Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture in custody by law enforcement agencies have created a culture of fear across the country. The illegitimate ruling government in Bangladesh has assumed a totalitarian role to perpetuate illegitimate power by trampling on the constitution.

There is no freedom of speech in Bangladesh. Freedom of the press has been usurped by brute force. The murder of journalists and the brutal torture of numerous journalists has become commonplace. Newspapers and televisions have been closed one by one so that the voices of the opposition are not heard. And in this sequel, the BNP Chairman and former Prime Minister, the symbol of democracy in this country, Begum Khaleda Zia, has been unjustly sentenced and imprisoned in a bogus case. Even her medical treatment is being illegally obstructed by the Bangladeshi government.

When people try to protest against the undemocratic and unfair behavior of the Bangladeshi government, they are brutally tortured by the politically driven force. Women and children are being horribly tortured in different parts of the country by the government's pet terrorists. Democracy has been left out of the country under the government's cruel policy of repression. The government has engaged in a bloodbath to suppress the opinions and beliefs of the opposition. The government is bent on destroying the multi-party system to create a one-party state and society. Seeing the intensity of the unrest among the people, the illegal Awami government has become more reckless in oppressing opposition party leaders and activists, including the BNP, so that the opposition forces lose the ability to raise their heads against the government.

Therefore, I express my sympathy to all the oppressed peoples of the world, including Bangladesh, on the United Nations declared International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. I call for ending all obstacles to obtaining justice for the victims of torture. It is possible to defeat the cruel oppressors and dictators only through the united efforts of all the democratic peoples of the world inspired by a sense of humanitarianism.

Allah is Hafez. Long live Bangladesh.

(Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi)

Senior Joint Secretary General

Bangladesh Nationalist Party – BNP.