17 April 2021, Saturday
We, the undersigned, are issuing the following statement in reaction to the brutal killing of at least five people at the under-construction coal-fired power plant of S Alam Group in Chattogram’s Banshkhali:
At least five people were killed and numerous others were injured when the police started shooting the workers of an under-construction coal-fired power plant of S Alam Group in Chattogram’s Banshkhali, while they were staging protests over several demands including payment of due wages, media reported. We seriously condemn this event which is a major violation of human rights and a shame for a democratic nation. Shooting the workers who were protesting for their due wages is against the rule of law. This brutal killing by the police is nothing but unlawful use of power where it is their job to ensure safety and security of the people.
According to the constitution and other laws, police are never allowed to shoot the innocent workers who were executing their lawful rights. According to Police Regulations 1943, police are allowed to use minimum force as the last resort for those assemblies which deem a serious security concern; but the purpose of using the minimum force would be breaking the assembly apart and shouldn't be intended to kill anyone. Most of the time we don’t see the police maintaining these regulations. Liability of breaking the law by the law enforcers is the same as any other citizen of the land. We demand a neutral investigation of this event by a judicial probe committee and exemplary punishment for the responsible members of the police force.
As the country is going through the second wave of covid19 pandemic, life of the working class people has turned into a living nightmare. In such a time, workers not paid their due wages are a serious violation of Labour law and basic human rights. It should be investigated why the country's one of the top industrialists S Alam group hasn’t paid their workers. We demand that all the workers must be paid their due wages without further delay. In addition, the agreement to build a coal-fired power plant between the government and S Alam group should be cancelled as S Alam group failed to pay their workers.
We would also like to remind that people were killed before at Banshkhali thermal power plant, in 2016 and 2017. Six people were killed and more than a hundred were injured in those events, however, we didn’t see any justice for those brutal killings.
Name of the signatories:
- Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, Founder & Trustee, Gonoshasthaya Kendra
- Dr. Hamida Hossain, Human Rights Activist
- Professor Akmal Hussain, Retired Professor, Dhaka University
- Sultana Kamal, former adviser to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
- Ali Imam Majumdar, former cabinet secretary, Government of Bangladesh
- Anu Muhammad, Professor, Jahangirnagar University
- Khushi Kabir, Coordinator, Nijera Kori
- Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman, BRAC
- Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB)
- Shaheen Anam, Executive Director, Manusher Jonno Foundation
- Shahidul Alam, Photographer
- Shamsul Huda, Executive Director, Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD)
- Parveen Hasan, Professor, Central Women’s University
- Farida Akhter, Women Rights Activist
- C R Abrar, Professor, Dhaka University
- Barrister Sara Hossain, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court
- Rehnuma Ahmed, Author
- Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA)
- Adilur Rahman Khan, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court
- Shireen Huq, Women Rights Activist
- Hasnat Quaiyum, Activist Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court
- Dr. Zahed Iqbal, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court
- Dr. Asif Nazrul, Professor, Dhaka University
- Robayet Ferdous, Professor, Dhaka University
- Ferdous Azim, Professor, Dhaka University
- Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Convener, Life and Nature Safeguard Platform (LNSP)
- Mobasshar Hasan, Author and Researcher
- Rezaur Rahman Lenin, Activist and Researcher
- Zobayda Nasrin, Associate Professor, Dhaka University
- Sadaf Noor-E-Islam, Professor, Chittagong University
- Saeed Ferdous, Professor, Jahangirnagar University
- Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director, NGO Forum on ADB
- Nur Khan Liton, Human Rights Activist
- Gouranga Nandy, Journalist
- Shahnaz Huda, Teacher, Dhaka University
- Tanzim Wahab, Teacher, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute
- Dr. Naila Z. Khan, Bangladesh Institute of Child Health
- Mirza Taslima Sultana, Professor, Jahangirnagar University
- Omar Tareque Chowdhury, Author
- Azfar Hossain, Teacher, Grand Valley State University, United States
- Maha Mirza, Researcher and Activist
- Ahmed Kabir Kishore, Cartoonist
- Nasiruddin Elan, Human Rights Activist
- Saydia Gulrukh, Journalist
- Nasreen Khandokar, Teacher, Jahangirnagar University
- Arup Rahee, Singer and Author
- M. Zakir Hossain Khan, Executive Director, Change Initiative
- Sarwat Shamin, Teacher, Dhaka University
- Jannatul Maowa, Photographer and Teacher, Pathshala
- Sheikh Noor Alam, Mongla Nagorik Samaj
- Tauhedul Islam Shahazada, Executive Director, Prantojon
- Maidul Islam, Teacher, Chittagong University
- Lubna Mariyam, Artistic Director, Sadhna
- Advocate Abdullah Al Noman, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court
- Rebeka Sultana, Teacher and Cultural Activist, Samageet
- Quazi Omar Faisal, Teacher and Researcher
- Sekandar Ali Mina Sumon, Executive Director, Safety and Rights Society
- Tanzeem Wahab, Teacher, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute
- Agradut Dasgupta, Coordinator, Songshoptaque
- Rashed Ripon, Executive Director, Paribartan-Rajshahi
- Amal Aakash, Cultural Organizer, Samageet
- Muktashree Chakma Sathi, Sangat: Feminist Group
- Tasafee Hossain, Human Rights Activist
- Bithi Ghosh, Cultural Activist, Samageet
- Aparajeeta Sangita, Film maker
- Rosina Begum, Researcher
- Marzia Prova, Human Rights Activist
- Hasan Mehedi, Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt (BWGED)