Staff Reporter :British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert W Gibson on Thursday said it is a great shame that the reports of city corporation polls irregularities went without any investigation.Gibson also termed Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s [BNP] election boycott ‘unfortunate’. He, however, said there was no legal challenge against the elections. The British envoy came up with the remarks while he was addressing a programme of Diplomatic Correspondents Association titled: DCAB Talks 2015 at National Press Club on Thursday. He hoped that the three newly elected mayors would play their due role in transforming the cities and would turn those happy and healthy ones.The High Commissioner said he strongly condemned the brutal murder of bloggers around the world including Bangladesh. “Those who exercise free thinking in Bangladesh, they are being hacked to death. It’s very unfortunate and worrying,” expressing concern he also said.He said, “Violence that by its actions has shown itself the enemy of every reasonable vision for civilisation and a travesty of the values of the religion it purports to defend. In Bangladesh, we have seen innocent people, exercising their freedom of expression and being hacked to death.” “I unequivocally condemn the killing of bloggers in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world. Freedom of expression is the basic right of all human beings. We should be respectful to the freedom of expression,” he said. About combating terrorism, he said, “When it comes to tackling Islamist extremism and its consequences, we will need a comprehensive approach. Established groups such as ISIL and al-Qaeda pose a direct threat to the safety of all peace loving citizens across the globe. The “UK is committed to remain at the forefront of the battle to degrade and ultimately destroy Islamist extremism wherever it operates. And to stop it spreading and undermining democracy in Asia,” he said.Reminding that Bangladesh is a member of the United Nations and Commonwealth, he said, ” The main objective and goal of these bodies are to ensure the rights of individuals, freedom of expression, accountability of the state, rule of law, and fundamental rights of all human beings.”He said, “Bangladesh is one the biggest countries in terms of population in the Commonwealth. All concerned should work to ensure the basic rights of the people of Bangladesh.””I first set foot on Bangladesh soil in January 2002. At that time it felt I was stepping into what we used to call a third world country. The airport was unwelcoming and chaotic. But amidst the chaos there was warmth and generosity,” he said recalling his memory. He welcomed Bangladesh’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council and its representation on various treaty bodies. “We welcome its leadership of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Parliamentary Union. But with membership comes responsibility….the responsibility to uphold the principles of those bodies.” “Governments around the world that practice modern authoritarianism seek to dominate not only the executive and legislative branches, but also the media, the judiciary, civil society, the economy, and the security forces. “Authoritarians consider it imperative to ensure favourable electoral outcomes through a certain amount of fraud, gerrymandering, handpicking of election commissions, and other such rigging techniques,” he stated.DCAB President Masud Karim and general secretary Bashir Ahmed also spoke at the occasion.
