Staff Reporter :The United States has said most international observers characterised the last year’s January 5 national elections in Bangladesh as controversial and falling short of international standards due to the boycott. It also claimed some journalists in Bangladesh self-censored their criticisms of the government due to the fear of harassment and reprisal though the government claims the media enjoys the full freedom.Authorities failed at times to maintain effective control over security forces, though Bangladesh is a secular, pluralistic parliamentary democracy with a vibrant civil society, it further observed. The United States made these observations in its ‘2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ released on Thursday at the US Department of State.US Secretary of State John Kerry presented the annual Country Reports, commonly known as the Human Rights Reports that cover the status of human rights in countries around the world.According to the report, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League (AL) retained power in the January 5 national elections, which were preceded by months of political turmoil and violence perpetrated by several political parties. After the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies boycotted the election and engaged in a series of violent strikes in a dispute over the composition of the government that oversaw the elections, the ruling party won the elections, with more than half of all seats uncontested, the report said. The United States said extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, some restrictions ononline speech and the press, poor working conditions and labour rights were the most significant human rights problems in Bangladesh last year.The report said the government neither released statistics on total killings by security personnel nor took comprehensive measures to investigate cases, despite previous statements by high-ranking officials that the government would show “zero tolerance” and fully investigate all extrajudicial killings by security forces. While political affiliation was sometimes a factor in the arrest and prosecution of members of the opposition parties, the government did not prosecute individuals solely on political charges, said the US report on human rights.It added the Bangladesh government took limited measures to investigate and prosecute cases of security force abuse and killing.”The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, but the government sometimes failed to respect these rights. There were some limitations on freedom of speech,” it observed.The report mentioned that the independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views; however, the media that criticised the government sometimes experienced negative government pressure.The government owned one radio station and one television station and the law mandates the Bangladesh public television station (BTV) remain the country’s only terrestrial (non-satellite) broadcast channel, said the report in its Freedom of Speech and Press section.An estimated 60 per cent of the population did not have access to private satellite channels, and surveys indicated almost 80 per cent of citizens received their information from television, it claimed, saying, “The government required all private stations to broadcast, without charge, selected government news programs and speeches by the Prime Minister.”The report claimed that the government indirectly sought to censor the media through threats and harassment.Quoting unnamed journalists, it said government officials on multiple occasions asked privately owned television channels not to broadcast the opposition’s activities and statements.”The well-regarded newspapers Prothom Alo and Daily Star were denied access to prime ministerial events because they published reports critical of the government and Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina),” it said.Quoting some journalists and human rights NGOs, the report said journalists engaged in self-censorship, particularly due to fear of security force retribution. “Although public criticism of the government was common and vocal, some media figures expressed fear of harassment by the government.”The Awami League government, like its BNP predecessor, issued new broadcast licenses to political supporters and denied them to political opponents, the report mentioned.Individuals and groups generally engaged in the expression of views via the internet, although some activists stated that fear of prosecution under the ITCA limited their online speech.The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) filtered internet content the government deemed harmful to national unity and religious beliefs.The 2013 amendment to the ICTA increased penalties for cyber crime, made more offenses ineligible for bail, and gave law enforcement officers broader authority to arrest violators without a court order.
