The Caretaker Government was constituted under the provisions of the Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, proclaimed State of Emergency on 11 January 2007 purportedly under Article 141 A of the Constitution, in the absence of the Parliament and obviously without satisfying constitutional requirement ‘for its validity the prior counter signature of the Prime Minister. Odhikar has, since then, expressed concern against such an extra‐constitutional move anticipating serious constitutional, political, economic crisis that may justifiably question the responsibility of those who uncritically supported such move, remaining singularly focused on ‘corruption’. As a human rights organisation, Odhikar could not accept any justification to limit or curtail fundamental rights, particularly in a political, legal and cultural scenario where extrajudicial killing, death in custody, torture without impunity, etc. are becoming the norm.
This report covers the following topics:
- Continuing emergency illegal under the Constitution and international law
- The damaged Constitution
- ‘No’ to a National Security Council
- Participatory democracy in danger
- Election Commission’s missing deadlines
- Repeal the anti‐terror ordinance 2008
- Workers rights
- Extrajudicial killings
- Stop torture
The report closes with 8 recommendations to the government of Bangladesh.
18 Months-State of Emergency Report 18 months-2008 (full text in English, PDF)
