New Age, Bangladesh, in an editorial, argues that despite demand for explanation by the high court, the government has not taken any action; thus it is upto Bangladeshi society to pressure the government to ensure that encounters come to an end.

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Two months on since the High Court demanded an explanation from the Awami League-led government as to why extrajudicial killings by members of the law enforcement agencies in the name of ‘crossfire’ and ‘encounter’ should not be declared illegal, neither has there been any let-up in the incidence of extrajudicial killing nor have the incumbents cared to respond to the court’s rule, although it was ordained by the highest judiciary to do so in four weeks. The court had also asked the government to explain why it should not be directed to take departmental and legal action against the people involved in such killings. According to a report front-paged in New Age on Saturday, there have been 61 extrajudicial killings by members of the law enforcement agencies, especially the Rapid Action Battalion, since the AL-led government was installed on January 6, although the ruling party, in its election manifesto, pledged to put an end to extra-judicial killings and some senior members of the cabinet have affirmed several times in public the government’s commitment in this regard. One must say, however, that the government’s reluctance, either to respond to the High Court’s rule or to act decisively against extrajudicial killing, is hardly surprising.

   Since the government began its tenure with a lot of tough talk against extrajudicial killings by members of law enforcement agencies, its resolve to put an end to the vilest form of human rights violation has dissipated first into indifference and then into outright indulgence. Soon after the local government, rural development and cooperatives, and foreign ministers had publicly denounced extrajudicial killings as an affront to the rule of law, the home minister and the then state minister for home affairs sought to justify such killings by members of the law enforcement agencies as their constitutional right to self-defence. The obvious volte-face by the government has apparently reinforced the impunity with which members of the law enforcement agencies have carried out one extrajudicial killing after another, virtually renewing their licence to be the law enforcer, prosecutor, judge and executioner all at the same time. Its dithering with regard to the High Court’s rule, which amounts to downright defiance of the highest judiciary, could very well bolster the law enforcers’ sense of impunity and embolden them to carry on with their extrajudicial activities furthermore.

   Overall, by giving indulgence to some trigger-happy members of the law enforcement agencies, the government is not only defaulting on its pledge to the people and thus putting its credibility on the line but, most importantly, it is also undermining the rule of law and weakening the state. Hence, as we have written in these columns before, it is becoming imperative that the conscious and conscientious sections of society should raise their voice against extrajudicial killings by members of the law enforcement agencies and mobilise public opinion against such blatant violation of human rights. It is only by maintaining sustained social pressure that the government can be made to act decisively and demonstratively towards bringing an end to extrajudicial killings.