Govt critics disappear: Activists seek action from the UK against persecution in Bangladesh

On August 30, dozens of Bangladeshi human rights activists gathered outside the BBC's headquarters in London, UK. Some of the protesters were British citizens and some were not. They wanted to underscore persistent human rights abuses in Bangladesh. The Awami League has been in office in Bangladesh for 15 years. It has become increasingly unashamed about abducting its critics. There have been over 605 cases of forced disappearances in that time frame.

The protest was organized by the Centre for Democracy and Good Governance in Bangladesh (CDGGB). CDGGB does not identify with any political party. All the protestors were male. Half were clean-shaven. From this one deduces that they were 'secularists'. None sported traditional Bangladeshi garb.

The activists of CDGGB told harrowing tales of kidnapping and unlawful detention. People have been held incommunicado for up to 15 years. Families have no idea if their relative is dead or alive. A wife is unfree to re-wed if she cannot prove that he husband is deceased. People cannot inherit property without a death certificate. Bank accounts are frozen and so forth.

For many families, it would be better to know that their loved one is dead than to live in this deathly limbo. Victims' families do have not a moment's peace. At what point would you stop looking for your missing loved one?

Those who complained that their relative has 'vanished' due to government action are often visited by the police. The police sometimes tell the relatives that they had better sign a document to state that they know the relative has not disappeared but is in hiding or has gone abroad. If the relatives refuse to sign, they know there will be hell to pay.

The Bangladeshi secret service is the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). DGFI is not used just for a legitimate intelligence role. It has become a cudgel in the hands of the Awami League. It is used to beat peaceful opposition insensible.

The CDGGB protest came on the International Day of Forced Disappearances. The demonstrators appealed to the United Nations Organisation to appoint a special rapporteur to visit Bangladesh and write a report on the situation. The situation urgently needs to be rectified.

CDGGB has contacted both the Conservative and Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Neither the governing party nor the official opposition wants to hear. Tulip Siddiq is a prominent Labour MP. She is also the niece of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. Miss Sadiq is a supporter of her aunt. Ironically, Sidiq was once in Amnesty International.League

Why does the international community do nothing? Bangladesh is in a strategically important location. With 190 million people, it is fairly powerful. No one wants to alienate the government there. The country could lean toward India, could lean towards China, could be pro-US or pro-Russian. The Awami League seems to have a very firm grip on power. With pliant media and cowed courts, the regime is not going to be voted out any time soon. The foreign government consider it not worth the risk of provoking the ire of Dhaka.

The British Bangladeshi community mostly resides in East London. It is astonishing how London-based the UK Bangladeshis are. London has about 15% of the UK population but about 90% of the British Bangladeshis. The British Bangladeshis lean heavily towards the Labour Party due to a concatenation of intersectional factors. Most non-whites and most Muslims in the UK tend towards Labour. The Bangladeshi community being so urbanized and mostly working class is even more Labour-inclined than most non-white or Muslim groups because urban people and the working class tend to be Labour-leaning.

Those who criticize the Awami League's Administration run the risk of being made to vanish into thin air. In fact, they are kidnapped, soundly beaten and held in dark and fetid dungeons for many a long year.

The Bangladeshi Government shall doubtless deny this. Expect them to say this is a pack of lies. They will say the disappeared could have been abducted by non-state actors or have decided to run away from their families.

The author is a UK-based political analyst who can be watched on YouTube George from Ireland