UNICEF’s representative in Bangladesh, Rana Flowers, has issued a statement regarding the tragic events that took place in Bangladesh during July and August of 2024. The report from the United Nations Office for Human Rights on these incidents is both heartbreaking and alarming. According to the report, out of the 1,400 people killed between July 1 and August 15, more than a hundred were children.
To ensure that "such an event never happens again" to the children of Bangladesh, UNICEF has called upon all Bangladeshis to take action.
Meanwhile, as some Mirror Chambers (Aynaghors) have been unveiled, the previous ruling party, the Awami League, is dismissing the revelations and ironically borrowing a popular slogan from the anti-discrimination student movement: "Stop the drama, Pio!"
How astonishing is our political decline!
The United Nations has come forward with clear evidence and data regarding human rights violations in Bangladesh. The UN states that the Sheikh Hasina government took brutal measures to remain in power. The protests led to the deaths of 1,400 people and injuries to 13,529 others. Among those killed, 12% were children. While politicians fight over power, why did children have to pay with their lives? The Awami League has no answer to this question. The party’s president, who has held the position for four decades, claims that everything was meticulously designed by Professor Muhammad Yunus. He further alleges that the Biden administration was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
For the sake of argument, let's assume the Awami League’s accusations are true. But during the July uprising, who was in power? It was the Awami League itself. So why shouldn’t they be held accountable for the mass killings? On what grounds does the Awami League oppose the UN report? This report was not presented by Dr. Yunus’s government. No one has even claimed that the interim government influenced the UN report. Then why is the Awami League in complete denial? Can everything really be justified by simply refusing to acknowledge it?
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has presented the investigative report, revealing that alongside the Awami League’s violent actions, the previous government, along with security and intelligence agencies, was systematically involved in grave human rights violations during the July-August uprisings. In a desperate bid to cling to power, the Hasina government repeatedly resorted to brutal repression to suppress protests.
The UN report is not one-sided. It also highlights human rights violations during the interim government’s rule. The report states that since early August, unruly mobs have carried out revenge attacks targeting police, Awami League leaders and activists, and other individuals. During this time, Hindus, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts also suffered human rights violations. Their homes were attacked and burned down. Religious sites, including shrines and temples, were targeted. The interim government failed to take effective action against these crimes committed by non-state actors, leaving the victims unprotected.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published the investigative report from Geneva, analyzing the impact of events in Bangladesh from July 1 to August 15, 2024.
Instead of denying responsibility, the Awami League could acknowledge the clear human rights violations committed under its rule and assist in legal proceedings. They could offer an unconditional apology to the families who lost loved ones or suffered due to the party’s constitutional failures and greed for power. They could pledge to never repeat the mistakes of July. Then, they could demand justice for the human rights violations that occurred under the interim government.
If the Awami League wants to return to politics and participate in elections, it must take these steps.
The cover of the UN report features an image of the bullet-ridden Golam Nafiz. Prothom Alo published the image in its top news story today, captioning it: "Bullet-hit Golam Nafiz hanging onto the rickshaw footrest." Rickshaw puller Noor Mohammad was seen rushing him to the hospital. The photograph was taken on August 4 in Dhaka’s Farmgate area by Manabzamin photojournalist Jibon Ahmed. A sketch of this image has been used as the cover of the UN report.
Another Prothom Alo report details Nafiz’s background—he had recently passed his SSC exams with a GPA-5 from Banani Vidyaniketan School and College and had been admitted to the 11th grade. He lived with his family in Mohakhali. He was the younger of two brothers.
On August 12, Prothom Alo published a report titled: "Even while hanging onto the rickshaw footrest, bullet-hit Nafiz was still holding onto the rod." The report states that when police placed Nafiz on the rickshaw footrest after he was shot, he was still gripping the rod. When rickshaw puller Noor Mohammad tried to take him to a hospital in Farmgate, Awami League leaders reportedly blocked their way, according to eyewitness journalists. Noor Mohammad then had to change course and head towards Khamarbari with 17-year-old Nafiz.
Oh, Awami League! Even after all this, do you still have the audacity to speak boldly? You stand nowhere near the humanity, compassion, and kindness of a poor rickshaw puller. Your obsession with power blinded you. It sealed your hearts. You failed to understand people, human rights, and only indulged in the monstrous greed for illicit wealth and reckless misuse of authority.
That is why, in your severe political and moral decline, you are now forced to borrow slogans from anti-discrimination protesters, saying: "Stop the drama, Pio!" This is the very phrase that students and citizens hurled at you in the July uprising, expressing their vote of no confidence.
We say, Awami League, remember the faces of the hundred martyred children. Remember the lifeless body of Golam Nafiz hanging from the rickshaw. You, too, may feel a sense of remorse. You, too, may realize that humans make mistakes, seek forgiveness, and are sometimes forgiven.
Like UNICEF, we firmly declare: Never again should such a tragic crime against humanity occur—anywhere, to anyone.
Author: Journalist
February 13, 2025