Tolerance, patience needed in politics for building healthy society: Chief Justice

Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan on Saturday called upon the country's political parties to cultivate tolerance and patience towards getting on with each other despite disagreements.

"There can be political disagreements but every political party has to be tolerant of each other, otherwise a sound society cannot be built," he said.

The chief justice came up with the remarks while addressing a workshop 'Role of panel lawyers in protecting human rights' at the auditorium of Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) on Khamar Bari Road in the capital's Farmgate area.

Mentioning some recent incidents where human rights were severely violated, Obaidul Hassan said leaders and activists of each political party have human rights.

"Similarly police involved in maintaining law and order situations have human rights. As excessive force on the leaders and activists of political parties violates human rights, then excessive force on the police also violates human rights," he pointed out.

Reiterating the role of lawyers in ensuring human rights, he said that human rights panel counsels will have to play a role akin to a 'legal aid', while mention of distorted names of accused in the cases is also a violation of human rights.

About the use of fetters on the court premises, the chief justice said, "Fetters can only be used for dangerous accused upon permission from court, as set out in a verdict as some accused fled from Dhaka court a few days back for not putting fetters."

Chaired by National Human Rights Commission Chairman Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, the commission's fulltime member Md Selim Reza, Director Kazi Arfan Ashik, Supreme Court's Registrar General Md Golam Rabbani, High Court's Registrar Munshi Md Moshiar Rahman among others spoke at the event.