Need to document Hasina regime crimes: Yunus

DHAKA: Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus Sunday stressed the importance of documenting all atrocities committed during the regime of ousted PM Sheikh Hasina, including the crackdown on student movement participants, police brutality against protesters following the verdict against Islamist leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, and all extrajudicial killings over the years.
“There is a need for proper documentation of all atrocities committed against the peopleWithout such documentation, it is difficult to uncover the truth and ensure justice,” Yunus said when Gwyn Lewis, the UN resident co-ordinator in Bangladesh, and Huma Khan, senior human rights adviser at Lewis’s office, called on him. Lewis informed Yunus that the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, will brief member states about its findings on March 5 during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres will visit Bangladesh from March 13 to 16.
Lewis also said the UN is ready to provide technical support and help the people of Bangladesh build their capacity in this regard. “This is part of the process of healing and establishing truth,” Yunus’s press wing quoted Lewis as saying.
Lewis hoped that the upcoming visit of Guterres will bring the Rohingya crisis back to global attention amid dwindling aid supplies. “We are very concerned about the funding situation,” she said, adding that every month, $15 million is needed just to ensure food supplies for the Rohingya people, along with other basic needs.