Families of over 700 disappeared people still await loved ones’ return: Law minister
The minister says the first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad amended the law to grant recitation formal recognition as a branch of the country's arts and culture.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman has said the families of more than 700 people who were subjected to enforced disappearance during the previous government's tenure are still waiting for their loved ones to return.
Speaking at a recitation festival at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka yesterday (5 August), the minister said the country's previous 16 years of rule were marked by enforced disappearances, alleged extrajudicial killings and political harassment that undermined people's fundamental rights.
He also claimed that around sixty lakh people were implicated in what he described as false and fabricated cases because of their involvement in opposition politics.
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The minister further alleged that more than 4,500 people were killed in crossfire during the same period.
Turning to cultural affairs, Asaduzzaman said he found after assuming office that recitation had not received institutional recognition as an art form in Bangladesh.
He said the first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad amended the relevant law to formally recognise recitation as a branch of the country's arts and culture alongside dance and music.
Referring to the Bangladesh Recitation Federation, he said the organisation is working to build "a peaceful, democratic and discrimination-free society" through the promotion of enlightened citizens.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmood Khyom and leaders of the Bangladesh Recitation Federation, among others, attended the programme.
