1 Bangladesh
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Bangladesh – Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 22 September 2015 Information on corruption or misuse of power by Awami League politicians. A country profile of Bangladesh published by the Business Anti-Corruption Portal states: “During the past decade, governments of Bangladesh have established legislation to combat different forms of corruption, including bribery, embezzlement and money laundering. They have also attempted to address the culture of impunity by prosecuting corrupt officials and strengthening the country's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and the current Awami-league government has publicly emphasised its commitment to combat corruption and the need for a strong ACC. Nevertheless, as noted by the Investment Climate Statement 2013, enforcement remains inconsistent. As a result, pervasive corruption, patronage and the misallocation of resources have prevented the country from making a more significant developmental leap. The Transformation Index 2014 notes that the initiated anti-corruption drive has recently faltered, and the ACC’s capacity to address corruption has been further weakened by the government by curtailing its power to prosecute high- level officials and political leaders. The report further notes that political parties generally are not wholehearted in their rhetoric about the elimination of corruption and are not inclined to develop institutional mechanisms to sufficiently address the problem.” (Business Anti-Corruption Portal (June 2014) Bangladesh Country Profile) A Freedom House report, in a section titled “Anticorruption And Transparency”, states: “Bangladesh’s struggle to encourage pro-poor economic growth continues as corruption remains pervasive throughout government and society. Public and private sector institutions suffer from corrupt practices that severely undermine the prospect for fostering a culture of good governance. Corruption is so widespread that most people now view it as a fait accompli. This was not the case after the military takeover in January 2007, when the military-backed caretaker government began prosecuting corrupt politicians, high-level government officials, and business magnates. The caretaker government also embarked on a massive reform agenda aimed at making government bureaucracies more efficient, accountable, and transparent. Although critics viewed the caretaker government’s institutional reform program as part of the military’s standard populist narrative of patriotism and nationalism, it took concrete measures to empower the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to pursue corrupt organizations, institutions, and individuals and obtain convictions against them. However, the country’s return to electoral democracy changed the political landscape in such a way that institutional reform in general, and tackling rampant corruption in particular, 1 was no longer a top priority. The AL government’s focus seems to have shifted to regime consolidation rather than strengthening of public institutions. As noted above, the Sheikh Hasina administration moved to withdraw a large number of corruption cases filed by the ACC against the party’s senior leadership, making it evident that curbing high-level corruption is not the government’s immediate concern.” (Freedom House (10 November 2011) Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Bangladesh) The 2014 US Department of State country report for Bangladesh, in a section titled “Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government” (Section 4), states: “The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but the government did not implement the law effectively. Human rights groups, the media, the Anticorruption Commission (ACC), and other institutions reported government corruption. Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.” (US Department of State (25 June 2015) 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – Bangladesh, p.21) In a paragraph headed “Corruption” this section of the report states: “The ACC is the government agency charged with fighting corruption. According to a 2010 World Bank report, the government undermined the ACC’s work and hampered the prosecution of corruption. The report stated the government filed far fewer corruption cases than the previous caretaker government and that a government commission recommended the ACC drop thousands of corruption cases. Transparency International Bangladesh cited a UN Convention Against Corruption civil society coalition report that stated in 2011 the government asked the ACC to withdraw 10,536 cases. The 16th constitutional amendment extended parliamentary impeachment power to the ACC, Election Commission, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and other constitutional commissions. Some in civil society stated the government was not serious about fighting corruption and that it used the ACC for politically motivated prosecutions. Transparency International Bangladesh asserted that political interference in the ACC’s operations had rendered it a ‘toothless tiger.’ A 2013 amendment to the ACC Law removed the ACC’s authority to sue public servants without prior government permission.” (ibid, p.21) A report published by the Bangladeshi human rights NGO Odhikar, in a section titled “The Anti-Corruption Commission” (paragraph 381), states: “How deep rooted corruption is in Bangladesh, can be seen from a recent report submitted to the Election Commission in relation to the wealth statements of Awami League candidates in the 10th Parliamentary Elections. A random scan of the wealth statements of eight ruling party lawmakers and leaders, recently submitted to the Election Commission, reveals their hobby of acquiring land and how aggressively they obtained as much as they could during the last five years. Eight ruling party lawmakers and leaders, including former State Minister for Water Resource, Mahbubur Rahman; Forest and Environment Minister Hasan Mahmud; former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan; Aslamul Haque Aslam, MP from Dhaka [Mirpur]; AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif; former State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak; Nazrul Islam 2 Babu, MP; and AL Organising Secretary Bir Bahadur roughly own land equivalent to a tenth of the capital.315 Just five years ago, as per their 2008 wealth statements, the eight owned only 71.417 acres of land. They now own 3,508 acres of land. The pieces of land are worth a couple of thousands crore taka. This revelation has incited a series of questions as to how these leaders earned so much money and bought vast tracts of land in only five years.” (Odhikar (15 April 2014) Human Rights Report 2013, p.140) See also paragraph 382 which states: “The Anti-Corruption Commission has dropped 3,053 graft cases in the last two years whilst proceeding with only 521 cases. Many of the cases dropped involve Awami League leaders or people associated with the party.” (ibid, p.141) An article from the Bangladeshi newspaper The New Nation states: “A Dhaka court on Tuesday framed charges against Awami League MP Abdur Rahman Bodi in a case, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed for accumulating wealth beyond his known sources of income. Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of the Special Court-3 of Dhaka framed the charges as the accused failed to submit his wealth statement to the court within the stipulated time.” (The New Nation (9 September 2015) Charge framed against MP Bodi in graft case) A Committee to Protect Journalists report on the arrest of Bangladeshi journalist Mizanur Rahman states: “According to Ahmed and reports by Prothom Alo and other outlets, Rahman was arrested in retaliation for his reports alleging corruption and abuse of power by local officials. Ahmed said Rahman in February reported comments allegedly made by parliamentarian ASM Feroz of the ruling Awami League at an event that appeared to have annoyed local authorities. In the report, the parliamentarian was quoted as saying, ‘If anyone wants to present men with any gift, then do not bring any crest. I want cash, only cash. Don't you understand taka? A huge amount is spent for the election,’ news reports said.” (Committee to Protect Journalists (1 April 2015) CPJ concerned by arrest of Bangladeshi journalist and his treatment in custody) See also Committee to Protect Journalists report which states: “Detectives arrested Probir Sikdar, editor of the online news portal Uttoradhikar 71 News, at his Dhaka office, according to news reports. In court today, a judge ordered the journalist to remain in custody pending a hearing on Tuesday, the reports said. Sikdar was arrested following a complaint that alleged he had ‘tarnished the image’ of a cabinet member belonging to the ruling Awami League party, according to news reports.” (Committee to Protect Journalists (17 August 2015) Journalist arrested in Bangladesh under country's ICT Act) A Human Rights Watch report on events prior to the January 2014 election states: 3 “According to news reports, police statements, and members of the opposition parties, more than a thousand opposition supporters have been arrested since December 24, after the leader of the BNP, Khaleda Zia, called for an anti-government ‘March for Democracy’ to be held in Dhaka on December 29. Many were stopped as they travelled to attend the rally. The Dhaka Metropolitan police had refused permission to hold the demonstration, reasoning that there is a fear of further violence. Security forces were deployed to block protesters from arriving in trains,