Bangladesh Civil Society rejects EU MPs allegations against government: Report

Dhaka [Bangladesh], June 27 : Bangladesh Civil Society in Europe has dismissed the allegations mentioned in the letter sent by six EU parliamentary members, which stated concerns against the incumbent government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Dhaka Tribune reported.

The letter advocated in the favour of BNP and accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of creating a negative image of Bangladesh across the world, Dhaka Tribune reported.

However, after very careful analysis of the letter, Bangladesh Civil Society in Europe, in a press release, stated that they had observed that all the incidents that they have mentioned are based on false and untrue information.

The six EU parliamentary members are - Ivan Stefanec (EPP, Slovak Republic), Michaela Sojdrova (EPP, Czech Republic), Dr Andrey Kovatchev (EPP, Bulgaria), Karen Melchior (Renew, Denmark), Javier Nart Penalver (Renew, Spain), and Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland).

The six EU parliamentary members mentioned various aspects of human rights issues, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, good governance, and democratic practice of Bangladesh, and requested to put economic, diplomatic and political pressure on Bangladesh.

A detailed fact based on the aforementioned issues were prepared and signed by more than 300 prominent expatriate Bangladeshis and European citizens living in Europe, according to Dhaka Tribune.

The extra-judicial killing and enforced disappearances have been started by Major General Ziaur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, after the assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on August 15, 1975 which culminated in the extra-ordinary murder of four national leaders on 3rd November 1975.

According to the reports of Amnesty International, during Zia's five-and-half years in power, more than 2,000 military personnel were reported to have been executed.

As per the Dhaka Tribune, during the power of the BNP-Jamaat from 1991-1996, they kept on doing the torture, kidnapping, abduction and killing of opposition leaders and activists, journalists, minor community leaders including Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and the Indigenous community, Dhaka Tribune reported.

But Bangladesh Civil Society in Europe in a press release stated: "We highly appreciate the long-time partnership and cooperation between Bangladesh and EU countries for trade and commerce, education and research, and all other development sectors. With the active participation of all EU member states and other development partner countries, Bangladesh has done a tremendous achievement on the economic and social fronts."

According to the World Bank's definition of prosperity, Bangladesh has shifted from being a "low-income" to a "middle-income" country (United Nations Committee for Development Policy announced in March, 2018). The incumbent government has been doing extra-ordinarily well to maintain the 'middle income' status, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working tirelessly for achieving the official deadline for graduation from the LDC category by 2026, fulfilling the UN's SDG goals by 2030 and transforming Bangladesh into a 'developed and smart' nation by 2041. This nation is recognized now all over the world as a "Role Model of Development". The so-called "Bottomless Basket" turns into "Over Flowing Bowl".

"Proposing VISA restrictions or cutting the GSP+ incentive etc are not good diplomatic solutions. These will only harm a country and a harmless and peace-loving nation. Politicians all over the world should avoid these kinds of thoughts. We strongly believe that the cooperation of Bangladesh with all European countries will last longer," it added.