Taking note of the concerns expressed by some international partners, including civil society organisations and media, over the recent incidents of violence in Bangladesh, the government in a statement has intended to assure all that the overall situation was turning to normalcy.
鈥楾he government wishes to assure all international partners that the overall situation is turning back to normalcy thanks to the timely and appropriate measures taken by the government and the people,鈥� said the foreign ministry statement on the recent situation in Bangladesh.
It said that the government remained thankful to the international community for their overwhelming support and understanding, especially in the backdrop of the wide circulation of propaganda, misinformation and disinformation.
Referring to home minister Asaduzzaman Khan鈥檚 statement made earlier on the day that the death toll reached 147 as per available information, the foreign ministry said that the exact human toll during the recent violence was becoming evident as the government assessed the tragic loss of lives, casualties and damage to public properties.
The government is reaching out to the families of the deceased, with assurance from the prime minister herself to ensure justice for their losses, the statement said.
The foreign ministry alleged that it was by now evident that a vested quarter led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and their student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir appropriated the largely peaceful quota reform movement by a section of the university students to unleash a reign of terror, anarchy and mayhem.聽
The government urged the international community not to conflate the issue-specific students鈥� movement with the subsequent terrorist activities that necessitated the legally-mandated deployment of armed forces in aid of civil power and imposition of curfew for specific locations during specified hours to save people鈥檚 lives and properties.
The government remains committed to hold accountable through proper investigation all those responsible for each incident of death among students and the ensuing terrorist acts involving killings, arson, vandalism, subversion and sabotage, the statement mentioned.
In the backdrop of the continued propagation of misinformation and disinformation, especially on the social media, the government assured that there had been no single case of 鈥榮hoot-at-sight鈥� by the security forces in aid of civil power deployed in the 鈥榓ftermath of the terrorist acts鈥�.
It also asserted that there has been no case of firing from helicopters during the law enforcement operations, other than for surveillance, rescue of stranded law enforcement personnel at certain locations, and facilitating passage for firefighting vehicles during emergencies.
鈥楾here was no otherwise motive behind the inadvertent deployment of one white Anti-Personnel Carrier that still had the UN insignia visible through the colour coating used to cover it. While the APC under question was quickly pulled out of service, the other images of law enforcement transports using UN insignia lacked any evidentiary basis,鈥� the foreign ministry said clarifying media reports on use of UN-marked APC.
