Introduction

At a time when the threat from, and evils of terrorism are so visibly apparent to all, Bangladesh has been, since the controversial and manipulated Parliamentary election of October 2001, witnessing a new and frightening dimension of this menace - that of extra judicial killings, violence on women and children, persecution on religious minorities and extreme repression and torture of political opponents.

Sadly, perpetrators of such crimes enjoy virtual impunity. The rightist coalition of BNP and pro-Islamic Jamaat has also given terrorism an institutional shape in society by nominating and elected listed criminals to local government bodies through a sham election.

Even the media have been subjected to continued attack and threats (mostly from armed cadres of the ruling coalition) and are being forced into not reporting the increasing strong nexus between politics and crime and the gross Human Rights violations taking place.

Numerous journalists have pointed out, "it is impossible to work with a gun aimed at our head" and the Government is doing nothing to put a stop to such practice, nor to eliminate impunity which, in Bangladesh, is becoming synonymous with this kind of violence.

Reporters sans frontiers" have in a report dated July 01, 2002 included Bangladesh in an Impunity Blacklist of 21 countries where "murders, abductors and torturers of journalists are being granted full or partial immunity by their Government".

It goes on to say, "Bangladesh, with 145 journalists assaulted or targeted with death threats, four other arrested, one reporter murdered and 16 news rooms or press clubs brutally attacked since (Khaleda Zia's Government came to power), is by far the country with the highest incidents of violence against members of the Press."

The images in the following pages are just a few instances of the heinous acts of terrorism being perpetrated by armed goons and thugs of the ruling BNP-Jamaat coalition all over Bangladesh today on Awami League leaders, activists, supporters and their families, and unquestionably represent gross violation of fundamental principles of Human Rights are enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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