A news investigation has uncovered evidence linking Bangladesh’s military-backed Government with mass arrests, illegal detention, torture and at least 100 murders since January. The horrific revelations come as Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer prepares to unveil a one-third increase in foreign aid to Bangladesh.
Since January, soldiers have been calling the shots in Bangladesh, one of the world’s youngest and poorest countries. Troops took to the streets after democracy was suspended and the military imposed draconian emergency rule.
Media restrictions are now tight and openly filming soldiers is banned. The Army said it took control to clean up a culture of corruption in politics and it has rounded up dozens of prominent people, but the news has discovered evidence of something far more sinister behind the scenes.
Human rights groups contend that the military has arrested as many as 200,000 people since the crackdown began. There is no way to fully account for their whereabouts but the belief is that most of them are still in military custody.
Some have emerged with shocking accounts of abuse, torture and murder. Soldiers picked up Protap Jambil on the way home from a wedding. He says he was beaten for more than four hours.
“They tied my two hands and feet and eight or nine of them caned me,” he said.
“I was in tremendous pain – I couldn’t move, I couldn’t walk, I needed four people to carry me.”
Mr Jambil says he was forced to lie while up to eight soldiers took turns beating him with bamboo rods.
“I kept praying to God and his son, Jesus. I thought that I would die,” he said.
He was not alone. His brother-in-law was also arrested and tortured, but he did not survive.
“At first they tied both of his hands and feet, then they tortured the soles of his feet and all over his body,” Mr Jambil said.
“They unzipped his pants and attached pliers to his penis and to all of his fingers and toes.
“They put candle wax on the wounds and then they put hot water mixed with dried chilli and salt and poured it all over his body and through his nose and ears.”
Attempts by human rights groups to document abuse cases have been met with threats and intimidation, but some refuse to be silenced.
Human rights group Odhikar says the security forces have killed at least 100 people since January at a rate of almost one per day.
Spokesman Farhad Mazhar says those who do emerge from military custody tell a disturbingly similar story.
“People have been picked up without any kind of evidence and then they’ve been tortured,” he said. “People complain that their nails have been taken out. They’ve been tortured very badly.”
Interrogation centres
Military-run interrogation centres operate all over the country. Some, such as Fatullah stadium on the outskirts of Dhaka, are brazenly open. A year ago, Australia played a Test match against Bangladesh there. Today, it is military occupied.
One witness, who was too fearful to appear on camera, described how he heard torture victims screaming in agony during a local cricket match.
Later in the same day, a senior Army officer boasted openly that suspects were far more talkative after they had been given electric shocks, beaten and subjected to water torture.
The head of the Bangladesh armed forces and the man behind emergency rule, is General Mooen Ahmed.
General Ahmed says action has already been taken on the allegations of human rights abuses.
“Nobody is above the law in this country, so if anybody makes a mistake, he will be taken to task,” he said.
The general denies soldiers are torturing suspects and rejects claims there have been at least 100 cases of murder by armed forces since he took power.
Govt hand-picked
To provide cover from allegations that he carried out a coup, General Ahmed hand-picked a civilian caretaker Government to run Bangladesh.
“It is absolutely a civilian Government, supported by the middle classes – the soldiers, the police,” he said.
Army-approved Foreign Minister Iftikhar Chowdhury says the military only plays a role given to it by the Government.
“It’s not a dirty work,” he said. “The Army is taking certain actions in terms of the anti-corruption drive, which has full support of the community.”
Mr Chowdhury says the arrests of as many as 200,000 people have taken place under due process.
“The arrests are made under some allegations of breach of law,” he said.
“Due process begins with the effecting of the arrest when those arrested are brought before magistrates, as is always the case here.”
The United Nations sees it differently. It recently accused the Bangladesh armed forces of using murder as a means of law enforcement.
But Mr Chowdhury says Bangladesh has done better than most countries of the world in these respects.
“I can tell you this and we’re proud of our record,” he said. “In human rights, Bangladesh is better than many, many, many, countries.”
‘Aust interference’
Bangladesh was on a knife edge in January. As political rivalries were being played out in violent street clashes, western diplomats were shuttling around the capital trying to mediate.
Just before the Army hit the streets, the British and American ambassadors each held private meetings with the military chief. Some suspect General Moeen was given a green light to take over.
Influential newspaper editor Nurul Kabir says a clique of western diplomats known as the Tuesday Club interfered in his country’s internal affairs.
The club is an informal caucus of the big donor nations that meets every week. Its core members are ambassadors from the US, Britain, Japan, Canada, the European Union and Australia.
“An ambassador isn’t supposed to do all these things,” he said. “I don’t believe that my ambassador in Washington can even think of entering into the headquarters to discuss politics.”
Mr Kabir says the Tuesday Club not only courted military intervention but campaigned for civilian politicians to accept it back in January. However, none of the diplomats will agree to talk about it.
“As a citizen, I feel embarrassed and I’m sure that people of the countries that they have sent here would have been embarrassed too to see how their high commissioners and ambassadors in Dhaka are meddling themselves in politics,” Mr Kabir said.
Aid defended
Australia’s High Commissioner, Douglas Foskett, refused to be interviewed for this story but he remains an open backer of the Government, despite the military’s behaviour.
“We are happy that all is looking positive for the future,” Mr Foskett said in a press release.
“Such is Australia’s apparent faith in the current state of affairs in Bangladesh, the Federal Government is preparing to increase foreign aid from $43 million to around $57 million, a 33 per cent increase.”
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has defended Australia’s aid program after the human rights allegations were aired TV. Mr Downer says the aid does not go to the Bangladeshi Government.
“No matter what the political behaviour of the political elites might be – and in this case they have a caretaker Government which says it’s reformist, which promises to restore democracy and we await that happening – I think it’s so wrong to take necessary assistance from the poorest people in society,” he said.
“We shouldn’t ever consider doing that. If I’m criticised for helping the poor, I don’t mind that.
“There are 60 million people living in Bangladesh in abject poverty and I think we’re doing the right thing to help those people and I would think most Australians would agree with me.”
The parliamentary secretary for Foreign Affairs, Greg Hunt, says Australia’s aid to Bangladesh was increased in line with its status as one of the poorest countries in the world.
Mr Hunt has pointed out that Australian aid does not go directly to the Bangladeshi regime but to reputable organisations like UNICEF and the World Food Program.
‘Common interests’
Mr Chowdhury is set to visit Canberra to collect the aid cheque. It is unclear what, if any, conditions are attached.
When asked if Australia’s High Commissioner raised any human rights concerns with him, Mr Chowdury had this to say:
“Douglas Foskett has been a tremendous ambassador. He’s a very good High Commissioner. We have always talked about common interests,” he said.
“There is sometimes a fine line between interest and interference. Ambassadors understand this very well.
“This country is – we would like to be as we say we are – in charge of our own destiny, in the driver’s seat of our programs, plans. Australians understand and appreciate that very much.”
General Moeen insists democracy will return to Bangladesh with fresh elections by the end of next year but he recently raised eyebrows by promoting himself to Full General. Many wonder how long civilians will remain in the picture.
Generals in Bangladesh have a notorious history of thirsting for absolute power.
