Previous govt established ‘aiyaame jaahiliya’: Yunus after visiting ‘Aynaghar’
Chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said the fallen Awami League government had established an ‘aiyaame jahiliya’ (dark age) during their 15-year-autocratic-rule.
He made the remark after visiting the secret detention centres established by the Awami League government on Wednesday. Speaking to the journalist after that, the chief adviser said, “There is a term called ‘aiyaame jahiliya’. The previous government had established an aiyaame jahiliya in the country. And this (the secret prison) is an example of that.”
Professor Yunus was accompanied by advisory council members, victims and local and foreign newspersons during the visit. These secret prisons were widely regarded as “Aynaghar”. These prisons are located in the capital’s Agargaon, Kachukhet and Uttara areas, said chief adviser’s press wing.
Dr. Yunus said, “What I saw inside is absolute brutality. Whatever I am hearing about the prison seems unbelievable. Is it part of our world, our society? The victims are members of our society too. I heard from them. There is no explanation of what happened.”
He further said, “The victims were picked up on false allegations of being involved in militancy without any actual reason.”
“There are many more torcher cells like these across the country. I assumed at first that there are only a few of these torcher cells. Now I have information that there are different versions of these prisons across the country. The number hasn’t been determined yet,” the chief adviser added.
Saying that people have been deprived of minimal human rights, Dr. Yunus said, “One of the victims was saying his cell was even smaller than a chicken cage. They have been kept there for years like this.”
It will be difficult for a society if it cannot get rid of these, the chief adviser said. He stressed on rebuilding the society, ensuring trial of the people involved in this and protecting the evidence of the secret prisons.
In response to a query about the compensation for the victims of enforced disappearance, Dr. Muhammad Yunus said that the focus is on ensuring justice for them at the moment.
Answering another question, he said, “We want to build a new Bangladesh with a new environment. The government has formed various commissions for that. The government will work to ensure that what happened isn’t repeated.”
Law adviser Asif Nazrul, environment adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, public works adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, adviser Mahfuj Alam, information adviser Md Nahid Islam and local government adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain were with the chief adviser during the visit.