Staff Correspondent

BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has said that disappearance is a crime against humanity and it is a severe violation of basic human rights.

“Like millions of countrymen, I am deeply concerned about the unprecedented disappearances in Bangladesh,” he said, adding that it is used as a tool of state oppression.

Tarique made the remarks in a message sent to the media on Thursday afternoon on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, according to a press release signed by BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He said in the regime of ousted dictator and fascist Sheikh Hasina, the ‘enforced disappearance’ has been used to create a frightening situation in the people’s mindset.

Reliable human rights organizations have simultaneously revealed that since January 2009, more than seven hundred people have disappeared by the law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh, he said.

“It is very painful that till date not a single case of justice has been served,” Tarique Rahman said.

He called for unity and solidarity across the world for ensuring justice and accountability against the individuals and institutions involved in this inhumane crime.

Tarique Rahman said: “On behalf of my party, I promise that if the BNP is elected by the people and forms the government, we will sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) adopted by the United Nations (UN) to ensure that no more persons will go missing in Bangladesh.”

“Along with that, I will enact the necessary laws according to ICPPED with highest priority,” he said, adding that there must be justice for this heinous crime against humanity.