scarletghoul
22nd December 2010, 19:31
The Rab have been behind the killings of several Maoist leaders in recent months in the west of the country, among other things. They are part of a wave of repression in a country that is simmering with discontent. No surprise to see the old colonial master's hand in this.
British police linked to death squads
Wednesday 22 December 2010
by Paddy McGuffin
Leaked documents published today link the British government and police to "heinous human rights abuses" committed by Bangladeshi death squads, campaigners said today.
New documents published by Wikileaks show that Britain has for several years been involved in the training of the infamous Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Human rights campaigners have decribed the RAB as a "government death squad" believed to be responsible for hundreds of extra-judicial murders and the torture and abuse of prisoners.
The documents - diplomatic cables sent by US ambassador to Dhaka James Moriarty - show that Britain has trained the RAB in interrogation techniques and the "rules of engagement" for the last three years.
In a cable dating from May 2009 Mr Moriarty wrote: "The US and UK representatives reviewed our ongoing training to make the RAB a more transparent, accountable and human-rights compliant paramilitary force.
"The British have been training RAB for 18 months in areas such as investigative interviewing techniques and rules of engagement."
The cables also revealed British police provided training to members of the RAB to address the allegations of human rights abuses.
The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) today confirmed it had provided courses to the RAB from serving police officers.
Amnesty International UK's arms programme director Oliver Sprague said: "Although training can improve human rights standards, transparency and accountability of security forces, if the UK support to Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion did include 'rules of engagement' then it is seriously concerning that Bangladesh's RAB continues to have a history of using excessive, sometimes even lethal, force against civilians.
"For example, this training appears not to have prevented police using excessive force against hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in November 2010."
He called on the government to conduct a thorough review and assessment of its training of the RAB in light of its persistent human rights violations.
War on Want executive director John Hilary said: "These appalling revelations link British forces to some of the most heinous human rights abuses in Bangladesh. We call on the UK government to make an official statement detailing the full extent of Britain's involvement in these violations."
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We do not discuss the detail of operational counter-terrorism co-operation. Counter-terrorism assistance is fully in line with our laws and values."
British police linked to death squads
Wednesday 22 December 2010
by Paddy McGuffin
Leaked documents published today link the British government and police to "heinous human rights abuses" committed by Bangladeshi death squads, campaigners said today.
New documents published by Wikileaks show that Britain has for several years been involved in the training of the infamous Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Human rights campaigners have decribed the RAB as a "government death squad" believed to be responsible for hundreds of extra-judicial murders and the torture and abuse of prisoners.
The documents - diplomatic cables sent by US ambassador to Dhaka James Moriarty - show that Britain has trained the RAB in interrogation techniques and the "rules of engagement" for the last three years.
In a cable dating from May 2009 Mr Moriarty wrote: "The US and UK representatives reviewed our ongoing training to make the RAB a more transparent, accountable and human-rights compliant paramilitary force.
"The British have been training RAB for 18 months in areas such as investigative interviewing techniques and rules of engagement."
The cables also revealed British police provided training to members of the RAB to address the allegations of human rights abuses.
The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) today confirmed it had provided courses to the RAB from serving police officers.
Amnesty International UK's arms programme director Oliver Sprague said: "Although training can improve human rights standards, transparency and accountability of security forces, if the UK support to Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion did include 'rules of engagement' then it is seriously concerning that Bangladesh's RAB continues to have a history of using excessive, sometimes even lethal, force against civilians.
"For example, this training appears not to have prevented police using excessive force against hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in November 2010."
He called on the government to conduct a thorough review and assessment of its training of the RAB in light of its persistent human rights violations.
War on Want executive director John Hilary said: "These appalling revelations link British forces to some of the most heinous human rights abuses in Bangladesh. We call on the UK government to make an official statement detailing the full extent of Britain's involvement in these violations."
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We do not discuss the detail of operational counter-terrorism co-operation. Counter-terrorism assistance is fully in line with our laws and values."