US embassy cable - 05DHAKA228

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000228 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BG, PHUM 
SUBJECT: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY REPORT 04-05 
 
REF: 04 SECSTATE 267453 
 
BEGIN TEXT: 
 
The Government's poor human rights record worsened in 2004, 
as the Government continued to commit numerous abuses, and 
there was a significant rise in extrajudicial killings. 
Torture by security forces continued to occur on a regular 
basis.  Police corruption continued to be a problem, and a 
climate of impunity was an obstacle to ending the abuses and 
killings.  Prison conditions remained extremely harsh and 
life threatening and contributed to some deaths.  Violence 
was a pervasive element in the country,s politics.  Fair and 
expeditious trials were problematic due to lengthy pretrial 
detention, corruption and a large judicial case backlog. 
Freedom of speech, movement, assembly, and political 
association was restricted.  In June, the main opposition 
party, the Awami League, ended its boycott of Parliament, 
though it continues to allege that it is prevented from 
exercising parliamentary prerogatives. Child labor and abuse 
of child workers remained widespread and were serious 
problems.  Trafficking in women and children for the purpose 
of prostitution and forced labor received renewed focus from 
the Government, which, beginning in the summer, moved 
aggressively and successfully to arrest, prosecute, and 
convict traffickers. Violence against women and 
discrimination against indigenous people and religious 
minorities persisted.  Members of the Ahmadiyya sect remained 
under pressure in some areas from Islamist bigots, but by the 
end of 2004 there was significant improvement in Government 
efforts to protect the Ahmadiyyas. 
 
The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy in Bangladesh 
aims to strengthen democratic institutions, transparency and 
accountability to citizens, and respect for the rule of law 
and human rights. To do this, the United States seeks to 
reform political parties, increase informed citizen political 
participation, strengthen local government, improve police 
and military professionalism, encourage better governance, 
reduce corruption, promote religious tolerance, reduce 
violence against women and address trafficking, as well as 
improve women, children and worker rights. 
 
U.S. officials publicly highlight the need for improvements 
in human rights conditions by using the State Department,s 
annual Country Report on Human Rights Practices as a key tool 
for moving the dialogue on human rights forward.  The Country 
Report is widely publicized in Bangladesh and closely 
scrutinized by the Government, opposition, press and 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) both in Bangladesh and 
abroad. 
 
The Ambassador and other U.S. officials work publicly and 
privately to engage the Government, the opposition and 
diverse elements of civil society on the importance of 
democratic institutions, including the parliament, the rule 
of law and respect for human rights, and have condemned 
violence in the form of strikes and personal assaults as an 
instrument of political coercion. In 2004, Secretary of 
Defense Donald Rumsfeld, USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, 
Under Secretary of Labor Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of 
State for South Asia Affairs Christina Rocca, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Affairs Torkel 
Patterson, and Voice of America Director David Jackson all, 
during visits to Dhaka, raised the importance of human 
rights.  The Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission delivered 
seven major speeches that focused heavily on human rights, 
including keynote addresses on events marking Press Freedom 
Day and International Human Rights Day.  Key themes included 
respect for due process, the exercise of peaceful, legitimate 
political rights, and tolerance and protection for religious 
minorities.  To commemorate International Human Rights Day, 
editorials by the Secretary of State Powell and the 
Ambassador were widely placed in local media.  Addressing a 
human rights fair, the Deputy Chief of Mission devoted 
special emphasis to combating the scourge of domestic 
violence. 
 
Responding to the growing incidence of extra-judicial 
killings by paramilitary police units, the Ambassador and 
other Embassy officials publicly, and in meetings with senior 
Government ministers, expressed strong concerns over the 
appearance of Government-sanctioned executions as a 
crime-fighting instrument.  Additionally, IMET, E-IMET, and 
counter-terrorism training courses sponsored by the USG for 
Bangladeshi law enforcement and security personnel emphasized 
respect for human rights.  Human rights were included in the 
curriculum in USG-funded peacekeeping courses and in joint 
training involving Bangladeshi peacekeepers, over 8,000 of 
whom are now abroad serving in 12 countries. 
 
Because many of the human rights abuses centered on issues of 
governance and corruption, the Embassy focused its democracy 
promotion efforts on the sector of political reform and 
improving local governance.  For example, the U.S. Agency for 
International Development (USAID) is funding projects 
totaling $12 million to strengthen parliamentary committees, 
reform political parties, and assist elected local 
governments to play a more active role in society.  Over the 
past year, USAID has continued to support the formation of 
the Municipal Association of Bangladesh (MAB), which 
represents 231 of the 281 municipalities in the country, as 
well as the creation of the National Union Parishad Forum 
(NUPF), a network for the second level of local government 
(equivalent to locally elected councils).  Assistance to the 
MAB included carrying out a membership campaign, organizing a 
national convention and establishing and collecting 
membership fees.  A total of 43 policy workshops were held at 
the district level, along with two national policy workshops. 
 
Despite the national level stalemate between the two major 
political parties, training for mid-level party leaders has 
made significant progress. USAID funds a program with the 
National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International 
Republican Institute (IRI) to implement these training 
programs. In the past year, NDI conducted a series of 
training for mid-level political party leaders in six cities. 
 A total of 160 political leaders participated in these 
events, including 32 women.  One of the major focuses of 
these trainings was on building internal democratic practices 
within the political parties. A regional conference, 
supported by IRI, on the roles and responsibilities of 
political parties was held for political party youth 
leadership.  Nearly 4,000 young party members participated. 
 
The United States also continues to support local human 
rights groups through a four-year, $7.4 million program that 
provides critical services such as monitoring police stations 
and providing shelter to abused women through sub-grants, as 
well as training and technical assistance to human rights 
NGOs.  Its initiatives to combat the endemic problem of 
corruption and train Bangladeshi journalists in investigative 
journalism continue to evolve.  USAID also co-chairs a local 
donor working group on anti-corruption initiatives with the 
World Bank. 
 
In the past year, the Embassy has sponsored 22 Bangladeshis 
on the International Visitor program to advance the goals of 
respect for rule of law, leadership development for women, 
student leaders and civic responsibility, freedom of the 
press, and the U.S. political process among other topics. 
 
This past year, the Embassy also focused on the security and 
freedom of journalists, who face pressure and sometimes fatal 
violence from persons likened to criminals, political bosses, 
and Islamist extremists.  The Ambassador made five high 
profile visits to major newspaper offices to underscore our 
support for freedom of the press. Embassy,s press section 
placed in several newspapers an editorial by Ambassador 
Thomas on World Press Freedom Day. 
 
Since the police have perpetrated many of the human rights 
abuses, the Embassy is focusing on enhancing their 
professional skills and their commitment to human rights and 
the rule of law.  The Regional Security Office and Office of 
Defense Cooperation are also heavily involved in promoting 
human rights through the programs they sponsor to improve the 
professionalism of Bangladesh,s security and military 
forces.  Anti-Terrorist Assistance, International Military 
Education and Training, and Counter-Terrorism money has been 
used for this purpose.  A Department of Justice Investigative 
Training Assistance Program began this year to improve police 
professionalism through an integrated training curriculum at 
the police academy and detective training school. 
 
The Islamic Foundation, a Government of Bangladesh agency, 
provides religious training to approximately 45,000 imams 
nationwide.  USAID provided orientation to 200 imams from the 
Islamic Foundation about U.S. programs in human rights 
women,s rights, health care, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, economic 
growth, democracy and governance.  These imams also visited 
several U.S.-sponsored project sites in an effort to promote 
dialogue and work with the Government of Bangladesh to show 
them an aspect of U.S. foreign policy not typically featured 
in the local media. 
 
When the Bangladesh Government began in January a process to 
ban the publications of the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, the 
Ambassador met with high-level host country officials to 
convey our deep concerns and to stress the importance of 
religious freedom.   By the end of 2004, efforts to give 
legal authority to the &unofficial8 ban had stalled, the 
Government had effectively stopped bigots from attacking the 
Ahmadiyya headquarters in central Dhaka, and, Ahmadiyya 
community leaders reported, local police had become more 
responsive to their requests for protection. 
 
Improving conditions for Bangladeshi workers has been a 
consistent aspect of the U.S. overall human rights strategy. 
Working with the Government, the American Center for 
International Labor Solidarity (ACILS), the International 
Labor Organization, and local labor and industry groups, the 
United States has had many achievements, including the 
virtual elimination of child labor from the export-oriented 
ready-made garment industry through a $1.5 million project. 
The U.S. Labor Department and USAID also fund programs to 
eliminate the worst forms of child labor, to support working 
women,s education centers, empower rural women in the 
informal sector and provide opportunities for persons with 
disabilities.  The International Program on the Elimination 
of Child Labor activities include a $6 million project to 
eliminate the worst forms of child labor in five targeted 
industries ) beedi production (the hand-rolled cigarette 
industry), match-making, tanneries, construction and child 
domestic workers.  As of December 2004, 22,900 children had 
been removed from hazardous work, and more than 30,000 
children have been placed in either non-formal or formal 
education or pre-vocational training.  In 2004, Parliament 
passed legislation authorizing full freedom of association in 
the export processing zones; the embassy is closely 
monitoring implementation of the legislation, including 
provisions for worker representation elections. . Supported 
by USAID, the ACILS Solidarity Center, and the Bangladesh 
Independent Garment Workers, Union Federation (BIGUF) played 
an instrumental role in the drafting of this legislation. 
Work has begun to assist workers in EPZ factories to better 
organize themselves and to understand their new rights and 
responsibilities under this legislation. 
 
Following the designation in 2004 of Bangladesh as a Tier III 
country in terms of its commitment to combat trafficking in 
persons, the Embassy and USAID worked closely with the 
Government to devise and implement an anti-trafficking action 
plan. Within the 90-day window, Bangladesh was able to 
demonstrate sufficient progress to justify a reassessment of 
its designation to Tier II (watch list). An aggressive public 
diplomacy campaign, backed up by continuous engagement with 
Bangladeshi Government officials, highlighted the importance 
of trafficking as a U.S. concern and eventually a significant 
success reflecting effective bilateral partnership 
 
USAID, which leads a thematic working group on 
anti-trafficking with the Government, civil society and other 
donor representatives, also worked closely with the Minister 
of Women and Children,s Affairs to carry out road marches to 
raise awareness about trafficking.  TV channels aired USAID 
sponsored anti-trafficking spots and messages free of charge. 
The successful imam outreach program, under which imams in 
the border areas received training in anti-trafficking, will 
be expanded to other critical areas of the country.  Over the 
past year, ten major village gatherings totaling 4000 persons 
were organized by imams to raise awareness about trafficking. 
 Many imams now address this issue periodically after Friday 
prayers and at other community events.  Several thousand 
people attended two anti-trafficking film festivals that the 
Public Affairs section of the Embassy coordinated in outlying 
regions of the country. The Public Affairs section also works 
with local NGO and other cultural groups on their efforts to 
educate rural Bangladeshis about the dangers of TIP in the 
form of specialized folk songs. 
 
END TEXT 
THOMAS