Entire state structure must be overhauled

Transparency International Bangladesh yesterday condemned the unlawful use of lethal weapons and the disproportionate use of force by law enforcement agencies.
“The entirely peaceful, non-violent and apolitical anti-discrimination student movement has been subjected to imposed violence, leading to an unprecedentedly tragic loss of hundreds of lives and a reign of terror over the past two weeks,”  said TIB in a statement.
“The entire state structure must be overhauled including all institutions associated with the rule of law, particularly the law enforcement and intelligence agencies through an initiative grounded on national consensus,” it said.
Those responsible for ordering and approving this unprecedented brutality must be subjected to exemplary accountability, TIB said in the statement.
Other than what TIB termed “cruel killings”, these weeks have been characterised by arbitrary filing of cases, indiscriminate attacks, mass arrests through block raids, illegal remand, detainment, and torture in detention by the Detective Branch, unjust warrants, online and offline threats, and systematic violation of  constitutionally guaranteed human rights including freedom of speech, right to protest and freedom of association.
“According to independent assessments, at least 200 students and ordinary individuals, including children, teenagers, journalists, and other professionals, have been killed by law enforcement agencies. At least 213,000 individuals have been implicated in more than 200 cases in the police stations of the capital alone.”
In the statement, TIB demanded that proper accountability for human rights violations of all types must be ensured via an internationally acceptable investigation conducted by a United Nations-engineered initiative.
“All those responsible for the tragic deaths, illegal, arbitrary and motivated abuse of power, and the use of force and lethal weapons, must be identified and held accountable.”