It is absolutely shocking that the bullets that killed former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe struck at the very foundations of democracy. We denounce this heinous act with all our reserves of hate and anger. At the same time, we express our heartfelt sorrow at the sudden death of Abe. This active and influential politician was slain just two days prior to the Upper House election in Japan. Freedom of thought and faith, speech and expression, and right to franchise are paramount rights of each and every people that must be strictly protected.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, democracy has gone off the rails in various parts of the world. The mob attacks on the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, appeared to be the most high-profile symbol of this disturbing trend. But the assassination of the former premier on July 8 underscored the depth of the crisis of Japanese democracy. Shinzo Abe, a polarising, nationalist scion of an elite political dynasty and Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, defined an era of reform and invited the world to reassess the giant Asian economy under his “Abenomics” banner. This incident happened in the last 36 years as it is rare in Japanese history.
According to international media reports, Shinzo Abe died in a hospital on July 8 (Friday) from his fatal injuries in grisly gun shot twice while giving a speech on a street in the city of Nara during a political campaign in the morning of the day. He was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of Liberal Democratic Party from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. The arrested 41-year-old suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, who carried out the carnage, told police that he was dissatisfied with Shinzo Abe and wanted to kill him.
Immediately after Abe was announced dead Bangladesh has declared a day of state mourning in honour of the former Japanese premier. The national flag was hoisted half-mast at government, semi-government and autonomous organisations, educational institutions, government and private buildings, and the Bangladesh missions abroad. Special prayers were offered in mosques and other places of worship across the country.
And with his demise, Bangladesh has lost a true and trusted friend as Japan’s cooperation in Bangladesh’s development reached epoch-making heights thanks to Abe. Even though Japan had been playing a role in restructuring the Bangladesh economy as a friend since its independence in 1971, the friendship got a historic momentum during Shinzo Abe’s second term as Japan’s prime minister. Japan had become Bangladesh’s fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment, after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia.
We observe this is a time for each and every one of us to make a renewed commitment to rebuilding democracy globally with the help of democratic superpowers as well as their vows not to allow such assassinations in the future.
