WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement condemning Bangladeshi security forces for their use of force and violence against student protesters. The security forces involved in these horrific acts include a paramilitary unit whose leaders have faced U.S. sanctions over human rights abuses.
“In recent weeks, thousands of students have taken to the streets in Bangladesh to protest a lack of economic opportunity and to end the government’s inequitable quota system for public sector employment that reserves government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. Rather than engage the legitimate grievances of the protestors, the Bangladesh security forces, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), responded with brute force, killing hundreds of protestors, and arresting and injuring thousands more.
“The right to peacefully assemble and protest is one of the foundations of a democratic society. We call on Bangladeshi authorities to urgently conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the security services’ human rights violations, as well as to respect the rights of the protestors, and work in good faith to address their grievances. The United States stands with these courageous individuals who are advocating for their dignity and for a prosperous future, and we will continue to speak up for human rights in Bangladesh and seek to hold accountable those involved in such abuses.”