FAMILIES of 19 disappeared persons demanded once again government intervention to know the whereabouts of their fathers and husbands at a rally at Jatiya Press Club on Friday in emotions and tears. As news report said, they have called upon the Prime Minister to listen to their cries to clear the mysteries in which members of the law enforcing agencies reportedly picked them up and then remained untraced. Family members have demanded the return of their dear ones for whom they are daily waiting or failing which the government should at least tell them where their graves are located. They can’t bear the grief any more. As it appears the day was observed yesterday to mark the second anniversary of disappearance of six young men from the city on December 4 and two more on December 5, 2013. Others also went missing in the past two years and their whereabouts remained unknown. In fact the missing of the 19 young men in question along with scores of other political activists of the opposition in volatile political climate not only left their families devastated; the entire nation was bewildered with shock. Many believe that killers’ gangs have picked up the victims operating under the cover of the law enforcing agencies. The nation saw no such mysterious missing and deaths of young people in so-called cross-fire and gun-fights in the past shunning legal process when politics was relatively peaceful and law and order situation was not so bad. Most people believe that the disappearances were linked to political volatility and the silence of the government makes the mater worse. News report quoted one of the directors of rights body Ain O Salish Kendra as saying that it is the responsibility of the state to find out the missing persons. If they are in custody, proper legal steps should be taken bringing formal charges against them or they be freed. What the basic law of the state says is that it is responsibility of the government to give protection to every citizen and if some one goes missing it should find out him or her dead or alive and return to the family. One can’t remain uncounted and here is the mystery as to why the government is not clearing the disappearance cases through proper investigation. What the aggrieved families say and we equally believe is that we can’t live in a lawless society where people will go missing without the government efforts to trace out them and nab the perpetrators. A government having no accountability to people and transparency can’t claim legal and moral authority to run the country. The government must give an answer to victims’ families.
