Rifle Squad

The Awami League, one of Bangladesh’s largest and most historically significant political parties, should be permitted to resume open political activities under clear and reasonable restrictions. This approach would protect democratic rights for millions of its innocent supporters while ensuring accountability for those involved in alleged crimes.

Any Awami League politician facing active legal cases or wanted by the police must be barred from participating in political activities until those matters are resolved through due process. Political programmes, campaigns, or public materials must not promote, display the names, or use images of politicians who are currently wanted by law enforcement or have been released on bail. [Read more…]

In my previous post right after Bangladesh’s long-delayed general election, I wrote about Khalilur Rahman and his alleged connections to the CIA. Today, with his election as UN President, it’s worth revisiting those points more clearly.

Khalilur Rahman, a Bangladeshi-American, has a habit of appearing out of nowhere and stepping into key positions in Bangladesh’s government whenever there is major chaos or a leadership vacuum. This pattern, combined with his reported ties to intelligence circles, raises serious questions. [Read more…]

Bangladesh is currently facing a rape crisis that is more severe than ever before. The situation appears worse than during the Awami League era, worse than in neighboring India, and even more horrifying than the atrocities committed during the 1971 Liberation War. During the 1971 war, the Pakistani army and their local collaborators, while committing widespread atrocities, rarely targeted children as young as two years old and seemed to observe some perverse boundaries. In the Sheikh Hasina era, when ministers or members of her party’s student wing were implicated in rape cases, the victims were typically teenagers or, at the extreme, elderly women. [Read more…]