The Special Powers Act, 1974 (SPA)
15. Political affiliation
See also Section 16: Freedom of Speech and the Media and Section 6: Political System
Freedom of political expression
15.01 As recorded in the US State Department 2012 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, Bangladesh (USSD 2012), released on 19 April 2013: ‗The constitution
provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.‘ 199
195 Death Penalty Worldwide, Death Penalty Database: Bangladesh, updated 6 April 2011
http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Bangladesh Accessed 6 June 2013
196 Odhikar, Human Rights Report 2012, dated 12 January 2013
http://odhikar.org/?p=5075#./?p=5075&_suid=137699143430306589730761989163 (p61) Accessed 3 June 2013
197 Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Bangladesh: ‗Clemency must not be a political game.‘, 29 February 2012 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-037-2012 Accessed 6 June 2013
198 Hands Off Cain, Bangladesh (2013), updated 25 April 2013
http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=23&nome=bangladesh Accessed 6 June 2013
199 US State Department, 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh, 19 April 2013. (Section 3) http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204395 Accessed 23 May 2013
15.02 The same report continued:
‗Opposition parties boycotted parliament throughout the year but returned on certain days to fulfil the requirements for them to retain their seats. In general they demanded fair treatment by the speaker and the ruling party legislators as preconditions for their return to the house. Opposition parties participated in all 48 standing parliamentary committees in the first session, despite their absence from parliament.
‗In some instances the government interfered with the right of opposition parties to organize public functions. It also manipulated the media to restrict broadcast of opposition political events.‘ 200
15.03 The USSD 2012 recorded that: ‗Although public criticism of the government was common and vocal, the media – particularly print media – depended on government advertisements for a significant percentage of their revenue. As a result the media had an incentive for self-censorship.‘ 201
See Section 16: Freedom of Speech and Media
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Freedom of association and assembly
15.04 As noted in the USSD 2012 report:
‗The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice; however, there were instances of governmental action to limit freedom of assembly during periods of political protest and unrest.
‗The government permitted rallies, and they occurred with great regularity. On occasion, citing fear of violence, the government prevented political groups from holding meetings and demonstrations. The law authorizes the government to ban assemblies of more than four persons ... Occasionally police or ruling party activists used force to disperse demonstrations.
‗Jamaat-e-Islami reported that the government severely hampered its ability to secure permits for rallies or processions throughout the year. Government officials also prohibited Jamaat-e-Islami leaders from meeting at the party‘s headquarters.‘202 Regarding freedom of association and trades union activity, the USSD 2012 report stated:
‗The law provides for the right of citizens to form associations, subject to ―reasonable restrictions‖ in the interest of morality or public order, and the government generally
200 US State Department, 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh, 19 April 2013. (Section 3) http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204395 Accessed 23 May 2013
201 US State Department, 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh, 19 April 2013. (Section 2a) http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204395 Accessed 23 May 2013
202 US State Department, 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh, 19 April 2013 (Section 2b)
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/sca/204395.htm Accessed 23 May 2013
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 31 July 2013. 69
respected this right. Individuals were free to join private groups. Trade unions were able to conduct their normal activities such as collective bargaining, but government action made it nearly impossible to form new trade unions in many sectors, for example, in the ready-made garment and shrimp industries.‘203
See Section 33: Employment rights
15.05 The NGO Odhikar stated in their Human Rights Report 2012, published on 12 January 2013:
‗[The] Government has abused section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 and systematically repressed most of the meetings, mobilisation and protests of the political parties opposed to the government, provoking violence and anarchy. Wide visibility of the misuse of section 144 existed throughout 2012, as in the previous three years. The Opposition‘s meetings were cancelled by police under section 144 on the pretext that at the same time, same day and same place the ruling party had organised a programme and violence could occur.
`The rights of the people to assemble and express their grievances to the government has also been systematically repressed, often with violence and police brutality. At present, there is an unwritten rule that the law enforcement agencies will put up obstructions and stop meetings and procession by attacking with batons or throwing tear gas shells in the name of ―public safety‖ when citizens bring out a procession or organise meetings against injustices.‘ 204
15.06 Odhikar reported in a Human Rights Monitoring Report for May 2013:
‗On May 19, 2013 the Home Minister...declared a prohibition on all kinds of political meetings and programmes for one month. Later, in the evening he said in an interview with BBC that ―this prohibition will continue for an indefinite period‖. The government imposed a prohibition on meetings and gatherings and even on ―human chain‖
programmes. However, police said that prior permission was required before organising meetings and programmes at specified areas. But police are now refusing permission. It was stated, on behalf of the police, that in some places meetings and political
programmes will not be granted. The main Opposition party BNP did not get permission to hold meetings in front of its party office on May 12 and 16, even though there was no written prohibition to hold meetings at the Purana Paltan and Naya Paltan areas.‘205
Opposition groups and political activists Political violence
15.07 Odhikar, in the Human Rights Report, 2012, published 12 January 2013 stated that:
203US State Department, 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh, 19 April 2013 (Section 2b)
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/sca/204395.htm Accessed 23 May 2013
204 Odhikar, Human Rights Report 2012, dated 12 January 2013
http://odhikar.org/?p=5075#./?p=5075&_suid=137699143430306589730761989163 Accessed 13 June 2013
205 Odhikar, Human Rights Monitoring Report for 1-31 May 2013, dated 1 June 2013 http://odhikar.org/#./?&_suid=137724198102808139372787049997
Accessed 13 June 2013
‗According to information gathered by Odhikar, from January to December 2012, 169 persons were killed and 17,161 injured in political violence. 382 incidents of internal violence in the Awami League and 146 in the BNP were also recorded during this period. In addition, 37 persons were killed and 4,330 were injured in internal conflicts of the Awami League while six were killed and 1,619 were injured in BNP‘s internal
conflicts. … Confrontation between the two major political parties — the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (in Opposition) — and their internal clashes are one of the main reasons for the continuation of partisan violence. … Apart from the State agents, various organisations backed by the ruling party regularly attack their political opponents due to their privilege of enjoying impunity under the incumbent government. … The ruling party-backed student organisation, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), do not allow activities of other student organisations at the universities and colleges across the country. BCL activists attack opponents while they try to hold programmes on any campus. … Political tensions are increasing as the national elections are coming close.‘ 206
15.08 The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in its Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report, April 2013, stated that:
‗Forty years after independence, Bangladesh‘s political culture remains confrontational and violent. In 2012, NGOs estimate that 169 people were killed and over 17,000 were injured in political violence. The violence is not sectarian nor, generally, communal.
Violence and vandalism have been an accepted means of political expression in a country where democratic institutions appear weak. There are no significant constraints on freedom of assembly, with frequent nationwide enforced strikes (hartals), many of which have resulted in violence and vandalism. The opposition allege law enforcement officials have used force during peaceful demonstrations. The victims are often innocent bystanders: for example, the elderly man burnt alive on a bus during an opposition enforced hartal, and Biswajit Das, a 24-year-old tailor, killed in front of cameras because he was perceived to be an opposition activist. … The last parliamentary elections of December 2008 were acclaimed as an important step forward for Bangladeshi
democracy, returning power to elected representatives. But the cyclical pattern of pre- election violence means that Bangladesh faces the prospect of worsening political violence in the lead-up to the next elections, due by January 2014.‘ 207
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