November 6, 2022
The Honorable Antony J. Blinken
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2100 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Subject: Bangladeshi lives continue to be at grave risk at the hands of the ruling authoritarian Awami League Regime.
Dear Secretary Blinken,
With dire concerns and fear of a possible massive massacre, annihilation, and clandestine targeted killings of innocent opposition political activists and civilians in Bangladesh, we are writing to you for reinforcements for the people of Bangladesh.
Opposition political parties are organizing nationwide rallies demanding their rights and protesting peacefully against the fascist regime’s atrocities such as extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. These opposition members are being targeted by the government of Bangladesh and being implicated in fictitious cases simply for demanding free, fair, participatory, and credible elections under a neutral caretaker government. But the regime is using various means to restrict these peaceful rallies utilizing oppressive state mechanisms, depriving Bangladeshis of their constitutional and democratic rights.
CHRD Bangladesh gratefully recognizes the Biden Administration’s support for democratic freedom in Bangladesh. The United States has already expressed profound concerns about the harassment of the opposition in Bangladesh and has emphasized the right to peaceful demonstrations of the opposition and its supporters. We gratefully endorse this stand and look forward to more support for the people’s demands to bring home their freedom to vote.
The rallies of the leading opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are gradually increasing momentum in numbers in divisional towns such as Barisal, following Chittagong, Mymensingh, Khulna, and Rangpur. The unelected Awami League (AL) government of Bangladesh has considered this a significant challenge and threat to its unilateral, one-party, absolute, and draconian rule over the country for the last 14 years.
The government ordered transport strikes to stop people from traveling to the venues of the rallies. All transport leaders in Bangladesh belong to the ruling party and they run their businesses under the Communications minister, who happens to be the secretary general of the AL.
Bangladesh media reports stated that all restaurants and residential hotels in the divisional towns where the rallies have been scheduled are not allowing guests and customers, once again under the orders of the AL as found evidently. As a result, gathering masses are spending nights in open fields or in the venues days ahead of the rallies. This has not, however, served as a deterrent to Bangladeshis from all parts of the country who have been attending the rallies in unprecedented numbers.
There are ground reports of repeated attacks by AL hooligans on the unarmed general public but they are often defeated by the presence of the colossal crowd around them. However, tragic incidents still occurred. BNP Chandpur district leader Salimullah Lablu (42) was killed on the way to his home and it is being learned from concealed sources that the government of Bangladesh has started executing its master plan to incapacitate the peaceful movement by the opposition, creating chaos and fear.
CHRD Bangladesh has received another report of a clandestine killing in Narayanganj of a BNP student leader named Amit Hasan (21), who was found dead on his way back home after a peaceful torch demonstration in the city.
The AL’s deep-rooted corruption and complete mismanagement is causing severe economic disorder and insecurity in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis have the right to protest against this corruption and the atrocious human rights violations committed by the AL for over a decade.
It has been learned from reliable, undisclosed sources that a scheme to launch a massive crackdown once again on the opposition and innocent civilians in the rallies is being planned by the AL, perhaps to prove there was violence in the rallies.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has threatened explicitly that if the BNP is not careful, it will face similar consequences as Hefazat. She was referring to the killing of 3,000 members of Hefazat who were killed at a public rally under the AL’s order. The AL’s massive crackdown is most likely being planned for the last, largest expected rally scheduled in the capital city of Dhaka on December 10, 2022, after five more divisional rallies which are yet to take place.
In another recent instance, Sheikh Hasina again threatened that if the BNP does not stop its rallies, Khaleda Zia (Chairperson of the BNP and former Prime Minister) will be sent back to prison from her “house arrest”.
Mr. Secretary, we appeal to the United States State Department to step ahead urgently in support of Bangladesh and its democracy on or before the December 10 rally. We strongly urge the State Department to save lives and salvage the Bangladeshi people’s true representation through free, fair, and credible elections.
The people of Bangladesh simply wish to exercise their democratic rights to assemble peacefully, speak freely, choose, and vote for their right representatives without facing the violence and threats of the present AL government.
Sincerely,
The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh
(CHRD Bangladesh)