Everyday the law enforcers are producing new tally of drug dealers and peddlers they have killed just the night before in their war on drug. The latest report on Wednesday said at least 15 more were killed in the night before in seven districts while the total death tolls spilled up to 132 in the last 16 days. The number of arrestees stood over 7,000.
The killing spree has left shock waves all over as people wonder why police failed to act before the drug trade had flooded the country. Why they were sitting idle.
Many now try to draw a parallel with Philippines President Dutarte’s war on drug in total defiance to human rights as special squads are killing suspects in night time drives in that country. We must say we are not Philippines; we have a Constitution that guarantees the safety of our people that can’t be ignored.
Diplomats at a meeting with Awami League leaders Monday expressed concern over the killing spree and called for respect to victims’ human rights; which allows legal self-defense. Illegal killing is not an answer to illegal trade. Other human rights organizations are also demanding restraints but the Home Minister has said the drive will continue. This is highly frustrating.
Police claim of gunfight to justify killing is clearly extra-judical killing making the judicial system redundant. Such story of killing is being repeated every morning now as big police success in their war on drug. And it means people feel totally insecure.
Law enforcers are picking suspects from homes as night descends and putting them on crossfire. But in our view such killings are clearly illegal extra-judicial killing without allowing victims the opportunity to prove their innocence at a court of law.
Police are using a list of suspects, which proves in many cases based on wrong information in a highly charged political situation. In our view those being killed by police without trial are dying innocent in total denial of their Constitutional right to self-defense. Killing people without protection of law is anarchy. Why then we have a judicial system if police can arrest, try and execute people in the darkness of night. This is not governance by rule of law but at the barrel of the gun.
The drug trade and network has developed under the shelter of the ruling party men in which police cooperated in most cases to avoid ire of local leaders. Now police are running the war on drug using a list prepared by the Home Ministry that targets most innocents as well.
Many believe killing small traders will not destroy big drug syndicates because they will quickly replace their network with new recruits. US ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Barnicat yesterday has rightly asked the government to nab the drug kingpins. In her view arresting small traders will not do.
But Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal is not reportedly willing to order arrest of Teknaf MP Bodi who is known as the number one drug lord in the country. He defended him saying his name was not in the Home Ministry’s list and other intelligence agencies had previously wrongly reported his name. Human Rights activists Sultana Kamal has rightly questioned if professional intelligence reports on Bodi were wrong why others have been killed based on similar incredible reports.
The killing of councillor Ekramul Haq at Teknaf showed RAB had used a wrong list in which his father’s name and local address were faulty. Local people say he had no link to drug trade and wondered how his name came on the list. As a public leader he was living a modest life.
On the other hand how the Home Ministry prepared list had dropped Bodi’s name left many to question the credibility of the whole drive. Media reports said Ekramul was vocal against Bodi’s drug network and if it was a case of eliminating a rival it needs to be investigated. We demand a judicial probe into the incident to know how he became a drug lord while police said there was no case against him as such with local police station.
Police raid at city’s Kawran Bazaar on Monday night showed how whimsically they are also running the drive elsewhere. Over 500 police laid siege on the area and arrested 47 persons including vendors, day laborers and some drug addicts as they were sleeping. Real drug peddlers left the area on prior information.
The people being killed without trials are dying innocent and this have consequences. The law enforcers will lose public confidence as faithful law enforcers. The most damaging will be the damage the law enforcer as killers without recourse to law and justice system. The young ones will not learn to be law abiding knowing being innocent is no safety.
