US trade deal must be scrapped, not reviewed: Democratic Rights Committee
The Committee on Democratic Rights wants the cancellation of the 'US-Bangladesh mutual trade agreement' made at the end of the previous interim government, not a review. In a general meeting of the Rights Committee, the members termed the agreement as 'against the interests of Bangladesh'.
Claiming that ministers and advisers have been making vague and side-stepping statements about this agreement, the rights committee immediately demanded the cancellation of the anti-national US trade agreement, which threatens Bangladesh's economy and employment, and hinders sovereign decision-making.
The general meeting of the Democratic Rights Committee was held in a building on Topkhana Road in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon. A press release of the organization on Thursday informed about the discussion of the meeting. Earlier, Prime Minister's Information and Broadcasting Adviser Jaher Ur Rahman said last Wednesday that the US trade agreement is not cancelled, but he is in favor of review.
The Padma barrage project approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) yesterday was criticized in the rights committee meeting. As in the past, hugely expensive and environmentally risky mega projects like the Padma Barrage project are being taken up without proper study and consideration of the consequences, as in the past, the press release said.
Last Friday, two Bangladeshi nationals were shot dead by the Indian border guarding force BSF at Kasba border in Brahmanbaria. Strongly condemning and protesting this incident, the Democratic Rights Committee demanded the Bangladesh government to take effective measures to stop border killings.
Regarding the measles situation, the rights committee meeting said that the number of child deaths due to measles has exceeded 450. So far, no adequate measures have been taken by the government to prevent the outbreak of measles. The meeting called for effective measures to prevent the outbreak of measles including declaring a state of emergency in the health sector.
From the meeting, concern was expressed about the torture of women and children going on across the country. According to their press release, women and children are being subjected to sexual violence in different educational institutions and areas including madrasas. From the meeting, it was called to take effective initiatives to stop the abuse of women and children.
The Democratic Rights Committee has also demanded the release of members of the Bom community who have been detained for more than 700 days without trial. At the same time, they demanded that the trial for the hanging of Tukki, Tanu, Sagar-Runi and Munia be proceeded with and the release of those detained in false or vengeful cases without trial. In yesterday's meeting of the committee, the people responsible for the attack and vandalism of shrines, temples, bowl arenas and sculptures were also demanded to be prosecuted.
Rights committee member Prof. Anu Muhammad chaired the meeting and its members Haroon ur Rashid, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Najmus Saqib, Deepa Dutta, Anup Kumar Kundu, Rafikuzzaman etc. spoke in the meeting. The meeting decided to continue the program until June 7 to demand the cancellation of the US trade agreement.
