BNP wants UN-supervised probe into forced disappearances

The BNP yesterday demanded that the government investigate the cases of abduction, repression, and forced disappearances under UN Human Rights Commission's supervision. 

"We were forced to seek UN assistance as the government is not investigating the frequent incidents of abduction, killing, and forced disappearance," BNP spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon told a briefing at the party's central office in the capital.

He also lambasted the government for repeated incidents of brutality against children and females in different parts of the country including the killing of a boy in Khulna on Monday.

Concerned over Bangladesh ranking seventh among the top 10 countries with high records of abductions, Ripon said the BNP earlier demanded probes into the abductions but the government did not pay heed.

Ripon, also an international affairs secretary of the BNP, said the country's law and order situation might "deteriorate further" in the absence of democracy for long.

"The incidents of brutality including killings and rapes are taking place due to a lack of accountability," he said. "We believe a fresh election is the only way out of the present situation."

Asked whether Khaleda Zia was going to London next week for treatment, Ripon said the BNP chief knew it better because it was a personal matter.