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Crossfire deaths must stop
 AFTER a period of relative lull we notice a recurrence of encounter deaths of alleged criminals in RAB custody.
| We mods were just talking about this amongst ourselves earlier in the week ... |
We had condemned such killings before and we are constrained to express our repugnance once again.
| Come now, green Steve just got his mojo back ... |
According to various accounts there have been a few hundred such deaths since the inception of RAB - a phenomenon that would be unacceptable in any country with a modicum of respect for rule of law and concern for justice and fair play.
| But this is Bangladesh ... |
This will certainly call into question the modus operandi of the elite force in such cases, apart from tarnishing its image.
| Um no, in fact no one at all questions the modus operandi of the RAB ... |
There cannot be two opinions about the many commendable achievements of RAB since the elite force was launched. It had successfully tracked down the top terrorists and helped in having them convicted and punished. It has preempted terrorist activities by capturing some of the second string leaders and workers of this group, as well as unearthing their arms and weapons cache.
A good deal of hard work has been done in respect of the problem of drugs and narcotics, and by and large many well-known and hardened criminals have been put behind bars because of RAB activity. It had succeeded in inculcating a degree of confidence in the common man.
| Who for some strange reason don't seem nearly as upset as you guys ... |
| But the achievements, regrettably, stand in stark contrast to the dismal record of crossfire deaths. This is indicative of the lack of respect for the judiciary and brings seriously into question the role of the higher authorities entrusted with law and order duties. |
But the achievements, regrettably, stand in stark contrast to the dismal record of crossfire deaths.
| Then again, the achievements may be precisely due to the crossfires ... |
This is indicative of the lack of respect for the judiciary and brings seriously into question the role of the higher authorities entrusted with law and order duties.
What we find rather patently unconvincing is the description of the events leading up to the crossfire death. The pattern is similar in almost every case, which raises the question in public perception whether some of these are not stage-managed in the first place? The explanations appear absurd and cannot be acceptable.
| Noticed that, did you? The RAB's twelve-step program for ridding a country upazaila of non-Islamic riff-raff and Biplobis ... |
Let us restate the fact that the law must be applied to everyone including those taken into custody by the authorities.
| Except for Islamicists, apparently ... |
No one can act as the adjudicator of guilt or innocence except the courts of justice, and no one can abridge the course of justice in a society that claims to follow civilised norms of behaviour. They raise serious human rights concern, and allowing such killings with impunity can only sully our national image.
| Which has been so shiny to date ... |
Justice must be allowed to take its own course.
| Don't say that, you'll have Carla del Ponte on your doorstep, and good luck trying to get rid of her ... |
No matter what the record of an alleged criminal may be, by resorting to extrajudicial killings -- which these crossfire deaths are construed as -- such law enforcers are not behaving as custodians of law.
| That's clearly not the point of the RAB ... |
Posted by: Fred 2008-07-18 |
