Bangladesh: Elections Scarred by Violence

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Duration : 4m 41s

Bangladesh’s government and members of rival political parties all bear responsibility for the violence which scarred national elections on January 5, 2014, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Hundreds were killed and injured in violent attacks surrounding the controversial elections, according to Bangladeshi human rights organizations. “These were the bloodiest elections since independence, and unless concrete steps are taken to address what happened, the situation in Bangladesh is likely to worsen,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “It is important that the leaders of the main political parties not only make public statements denouncing this senseless violence, but also take measures to censure party members found responsible for the violence.”
The 64-page report, “Democracy in the Crossfire: Opposition Violence and Government Abuses in the 2014 Pre-and Post-Election Period in Bangladesh,” details violent protests by opposition activists who called for an election boycott. On numerous occasions, opposition party members and activists threw petrol bombs at trucks, buses, and motorized rickshaws. In some cases, opposition group members forced children to carry out the attacks. In response, the government unleashed a brutal crackdown. Human Rights Watch researchers documented how members of law enforcement agencies carried out extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and the unlawful destruction of private property.

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