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| Bangladesh |
| These targeted killings are a crisis. Please treat them as such |
| 2016-04-27 |
| [Dhaka Tribune] Will the government now start taking seriously its duty to protect citizens with the urgency it requires? And will it forthrightly declare that there will be zero tolerance for hate crimes, and that those who are guilty of such wanton murder will be hunted down and brought to justice with the full force of the state? Let us make no mistake: Monday’s brutal murders of Roopbaan editor Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Mojumdar in Kalabagan were hate crimes, and they were targeted for their brave championing of LGBT rights. Whether you support LGBT rights or you do not, the one thing that we must all agree on is that there can never be any justification for murder, and that those who are guilty of such savage slaughter are enemies of the state and of everything that is decent in humanity. The government must understand that first and foremost this is a law and order issue, and that it cannot tolerate gangs of murderous fanatics killing with impunity. The government’s first responsibility is to keep all of us safe and secure, and it is failing signally in this task. This failure is only compounded by the government’s risible claims to have matters under control or that these kinds of assassination'>assassinations are isolated incidents. Nor is it helpful to point the finger at its political enemies before any kind of investigation has taken place. Worst of all, when the government feeds the mind-set that people need to watch what they say and write, by questioning what victims wrote or believed, it only emboldens and encourages the killers. When the police refuse to take action on threats made against LGBT activists, and discriminate against, harass and threaten them themselves, and when they have been utterly unable to bring those who committed such crimes previously to justice, is it any wonder that killers feel safe to target the community with impunity? The government must uphold the rule of law and safeguard the public. These killings must stop, and the government cannot rest until they do. No effort can be spared to ensure that all of us are safe from slaughter in our own homes. |
| Posted by:Fred |