Civil society groups in Bangladesh are calling for transparency regarding the use of advanced software and technology to suppress dissent and curtail civil rights in the country. During a recent dialogue organized by Civil Reform Group Bangladesh 2.0, speakers highlighted the significant amount of money spent on acquiring these technologies from countries like Israel over the past decade. The demand for a white paper detailing the surveillance activities and technologies used was voiced by politicians, lawyers, human rights activists, journalists, and IT experts.
The dialogue, titled „Surveillance, the Right to Privacy, and Freedom of Speech,“ shed light on how these expensive technologies, supposedly acquired for national security purposes, have been misused for political motives and to stifle dissent. Former BASIS President Fahim Mashroor, who moderated the event, emphasized the need for full transparency in how government agencies conduct surveillance and for what purposes. He urged the interim government to publish a white paper detailing the surveillance activities of the previous government.
Mashroor pointed out that several human rights activists in the current cabinet have been victims of privacy intrusion and harassment by authoritarian regimes. He stressed the importance of defining rules for surveillance activities to prevent misuse by future governments. Iftekharuzzaman, the executive director at Transparency International Bangladesh, highlighted how the surveillance-based state structure has been established to maintain power and suppress dissent.
He called for a complete overhaul of the surveillance system, stating that organizations like the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center and the Department of Telecommunications are unnecessary. Sara Hossain, the honorary executive director at Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, raised concerns about the unethical dissemination of irrelevant and unsubstantiated cases in the media during the interim government. She emphasized the need for a discussion on international standards for surveillance procedures.
The speakers at the dialogue condemned the illegal use of surveillance technologies to violate human rights and called for a more transparent and accountable system. They warned that unless there is a significant shift away from the current culture of power retention through surveillance, these oppressive practices will continue. The demand for a white paper detailing the surveillance activities and technologies used is a crucial step towards ensuring accountability and protecting civil rights in Bangladesh.