Political prisoners and their families seek justice in Bangladesh against the former regime.
Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is coming up, but first, making headlines:
Schools, colleges, and government offices were closed Wednesday in parts of southern India as heavy monsoons triggered severe flooding. The worst-hit cities included Chennai and Bengaluru, India’s industrial and information technology hubs.
The United States, South Korea and Japan announced the launch of a new multinational team to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday after Russia and China blocked monitoring activities at the United Nations earlier this year.
Leaders from countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an international security group founded to counter Western alliances, met in Pakistan Wednesday to discuss how to boost security cooperation and economic ties.
China held large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday in what it called a warning against Taiwan independence.
Leaders of Kashmir’s biggest political party were sworn into office to run a largely powerless government in the Indian-administered territory. The vote earlier this month was Kashmir's first in a decade and the first since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s long-held semi-autonomy in 2019.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, citing her alleged involvement in mass killings during violent protests that erupted earlier this year. An independent commission formed after her August ouster is investigating enforced disappearances during the last 15 years of her 20-year rule. As VOA’s Sarah Zaman reports from the capital, Dhaka, the five-member commission is a ray of hope for many, but they are also aware of the challenges.
Michael Chakma has mixed emotions visiting the spot where he was abducted in 2019 along a busy road in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital.
The tribal rights activist spent more than five years in a secret detention center that he believes a state agency was running.
“It was not a place where a human being could live. The room was like a grave. It had no window.”
Chakma was released on August 5 — the day former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India after a mass uprising.
Rights groups say over 700 people, mostly political opponents and rights activists, went missing during Hasina’s last 15 years in office.
Ayesha Ali’s son, Abdul Qader Bhuiyyan Masoom, has been missing since December 2013. Eyewitnesses told her that the infamous Rapid Action Battalion abducted the opposition party worker.
“I keep waiting for my son to call me 'Ma' once again. For him to say, 'Mother, how are you?'"
Bangladesh’s interim government formed a five-member commission to investigate cases of enforced disappearances. Ali hopes it will help her find her son.
Mayer Daak, an advocacy group for victim's families, has submitted more than 80 case files to the commission, including that of Ali's son.
Sanjida Islam, whose brother Sajidul Islam Sumon went missing with Ali’s son, is leading the group’s efforts.
“So, expecting all those secret detention cells they will open, make it public and demolish them. And whoever is there, they should let the family know these people are there. Let them return to the families. And whoever yet we don’t know, they should let the family know what happened to them.”
Questioning the security agencies accused of abduction may also be a challenge. Hasina’s regime routinely denied involvement in enforced disappearances.
It is also unclear how the commission’s findings will be used.
“One option could be taking these cases to the International Crimes Tribunal. A second option could be [that] based on the commission’s report, individuals can file cases. And maybe third option: Maybe we may think about making resort to the International Criminal Court established by the Rome Statute.”
In Bangladesh, the quest for answers continues under a new regime.
Sarah Zaman, VOA News, Dhaka.
Visit voanews.com for the most up-to-date stories.
I’m Chris Casquejo.
Finally, giant pandas are back here in the U.S. capital city.
The three-year old giant pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at the national zoo just before noon Tuesday.
The bears will be quarantined from the public for at least 30 days. They will make their official debut in a renovated panda house in January.
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