Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 22
A DW investigation into human rights abusers deployed as UN peacekeepers has been vehemently rejected by officials in Bangladesh. The reaction follows attacks on DW employees by pro-government media.
In a rejoinder issued five days after the joint release of the investigation by DW, Netra News, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bangladesh’s Defense Ministry called DW’s documentary “false and fallacious”.
Earlier this week, DW, Netra News and Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed that officers from an elite force in Bangladesh – the Rapid Action Battalion – that commits torture, murder, and abductions, are being sent on UN peacekeeping missions. But DW said, DW and its partners found more than 100 officers, 40 of them deployed in the last five years.
But DW said, DW had sent out a list of questions to the home ministry, which oversees the Rapid Action Batallion, and the office of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also defense minister. None of the above replied to the questions.
Just hours after the investigation was aired, pro-government media and social media accounts launched personal attacks against two of the involved journalists — DW’s Arafatul Islam, as well as Tasneem Khalil, editor-in-chief of Netra News.
Personal attacks on journalists
DW, one post claimed, was “trying to tarnish the army by fabricating the story.” Another post also attacked a member of Arafatul Islam’s family.
Other voices from Bangladesh welcomed the documentary, which addresses issues domestic media often shun.
Press freedom in Bangladesh is severely curtailed, few dare to openly criticize the army and the Rapid Action Battalion.
On Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index, Bangladesh is placed 165th from 180, ranking just above China and Myanmar.
Peacekeeping important source of revenue
Peacekeeping is a particularly touchy issue for the army, given that both individual soldiers and Bangladesh are reimbursed for the missions. According to government figures, Bangladesh has received more than $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) for peacekeeping missions over the past 23 years.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry called on the United Nations to investigate the allegations: “In the past, the United Nations have always reacted swiftly, opened investigations and dealt with these matters. This needs to be investigated and we have no reason to expect that it will be dealt with differently this time.”
Source: DW
