The unfolding of the ironic political drama in Bangladesh has exacerbated the volatile situation of Bangladesh. The human rights violations have become unfortunately a routine. The lives of the people residing in Bangladesh have become a mere political tool which is being kept at stake for those few who want to keep holding on to power.
An Awami League leader has said that he has filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against the chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, and 61 others which include all members of Yunus’s cabinet and the student leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Alliance.
Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, a former mayor of Sylhet, has accused Yunus and the others of committing serious crimes under Article 15 of the Rome Statute—the ICC’s founding treaty—which pertains to crimes against humanity.
“From August 5 to August 8, in the name of student movement in Bangladesh, all the leaders and workers of Bangladesh Awami League and its various affiliates, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists living in Bangladesh and the police force of Bangladesh have been victims of brutal genocide and crimes against humanity’, Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury said in a video message posted on Awami League’s verified Facebook page. “In this regard, we have submitted all the facts and evidence to ICC”, he added.
About 800 pages of documents have been attached to the original complaint, according to the video message. Extensive preparations are underway to file 15,000 more such complaints in the ICC very soon. These complaints will broaden the scope of the allegations, involving a larger number of people who were allegedly subjected to violence. Yunus’ law adviser Nazrul dismissed the plea as an attempt to mislead global opinion. “This is not a case. It is just a petition. Any person can do that,” he said.
Notably, in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong, a clash between the Hindu community and the law enforcement forces took place during a tense situation over a Facebook post criticising ISKCON. Due to this, the joint forces of police and army conducted an operation there on the night of November 5.
India condemned the recent attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong, Bangladesh and said that such actions would only create more tensions in the community.
The interim government has also taken swift measures to project this move by Swami League as a dirty ploy. Thus, in counter attack, Bangladesh’s interim govt said on Sunday that it would an Interpol “red notice” alert to repatriate deposed PM Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League colleagues from broad to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity. The Yunus-led administration has moved quickly to try the top Awami League functionaries by having arrest warrants issued against them through International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
Amid the unrest, Hasina, the 76-year-old leader, fled to India, and a new interim government was formed, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. The political transition, however, has been marked by continuing unrest and accusations of human rights violations.
