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Government must protect free expression
There are no new lessons to be learnt from this brutal killing. We know already that Das, like other writers before him, has faced death threats from groups merely for expressing his personal opinions. Like Avijit Roy who was brutally murdered by fanatics on February 27 and Md Oyasiqur Rahman Babu who was hacked to death on March 30, there is no doubt he was targeted for his views. It is completely unacceptable that groups and individuals are free to incite hatred against anyone with whom they disagree and to create hit lists by placing bounties on people's heads. If nothing is done to end the impunity with which such feelings are stirred, it becomes inevitable that even more individuals will be targeted for killing by bad boy fanatics. The only way to resist the fear these attackers wish to create is for the government to live up to its duty to uphold rule of law and protect freedom of expression. Authorities must uphold the provisions in Bangladesh's Penal Code which outlaw incitement to commit violence. There must be no equivocation in addressing the real problem here. People are entitled to disagree with the views of writers such as Das, but they acted lawfully by expressing their views peacefully. It is the murderers and those who incite violence who need to be held to account. Posted by: Fred 2015-05-13 |
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