Establish democracy to uphold human rights: Badiul Alam Majumder

Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Citizens for Good Governance, has called for strengthening democracy to protect human rights in the country.

"The Liberation War was fought to uphold the four fundamentals of human rights. Democracy is one of them. Human rights can only be ensured when the rights to vote and democracy are established," he said at the 7th Human Rights Conference.

The conference was organised by Human Rights Supporters Society (HRSS) at AKM Gias Uddin Milky Auditorium of Agriculture Extension Centre in Dhaka on Saturday, says a press statement.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), said, "According to human rights, people can follow a party and ideology on their own accord. But today Bangladesh does not have that right."

Addressing the human rights activists in the context of environment, she also said, "Living in a healthy environment is also a human right."

Nur Khan Liton, chief adviser and patron of the HRSS, said, "People in Bangladesh today are being harassed in various ways. False cases are being filed against them. In order to establish their own ideology, a group is inflicting tortures on, and even kidnapping and killing their rationalist critics. Now there is a great lack of freedom of speech in an independent country."

Pallab Chakma, executive director of Kapain Foundation, spoke on behalf of the indigenous community.

He said, "Plans to build a five-star hotel on the summit of Chimbuk is leading to the eviction of the tribals. A secret racket is working to evict tribal people in various ways all over the country."

Abu Hanif Mohammad Naeman, director of the HRSS, also spoke on the occasion. Shariful Islam, associate professor of political science at the University of Dhaka, presented the keynote paper.

Barrister Shahzada Al-Amin Kabir presided over the function.