DHAKA: The United Nations said Friday that worrying cases of violence and intimidation have been reported in Bangladesh since the country’s deadly election campaign.
A woman allegedly gang-raped for voting for an opposition party is among the worst of a series of attacks reported by local media since Sunday’s election which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won by a landslide.
“We are concerned about violence and alleged human rights violations in Bangladesh before, during and after the recent elections,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN human rights commissioner in Geneva.
“There are worrying indications that reprisals have continued to take place, notably against the political opposition, including physical attacks and ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests, harassment, disappearances and filing of criminal cases.
“Reports suggest that violent attacks and intimidation, including against minorities, have been disproportionately carried out by ruling party activists, at times with the complicity or involvement of law enforcement officers,” said the UN spokeswoman.
The UN called on Bangladesh authorities “to carry out prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations” into the election-related violence as well as attacks and threats made to journalists.
The spokeswoman said at least two journalists have been arrested under Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act “in relation to their reporting on the election.”
At least 17 people died in election-related violence up to polling day. The opposition has said there was widespread voter intimidation and fraud.
On election night, a mother of four in the southern district of Noakhali was allegedly raped by more than 10 followers of the ruling Awami League because she voted for the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, media reports said.
Her family has filed a police complaint but the Awami League denied any link to the case.
UN condemns Bangladesh election ‘reprisals’
UN condemns Bangladesh election ‘reprisals’
- At least 17 people died in election-related violence up to polling day
- The opposition has said there was widespread voter intimidation and fraud
Prabowo, Trump expected to sign Indonesia-US tariff deal in January 2026
- Deal will mean US tariffs on Indonesian products are cut from a threatened 32 percent to 19 percent
- Jakarta committed to scrap tariffs on more than 99 percent of US goods
JAKARTA: Indonesia expects to sign a tariff deal with the US in early 2026 after reaching an agreement on “all substantive issues,” Jakarta's chief negotiator said on Tuesday.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Washington this week to finalize an Indonesia-US trade deal, following a series of discussions that took place after the two countries agreed on a framework for negotiations in July.
“All substantive issues laid out in the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade have been agreed upon by the two sides, including both the main and technical issues,” Hartarto said in an online briefing.
Officials from both countries are now working to set up a meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump.
It will take place after Indonesian and US technical teams meet in the second week of January for a legal scrubbing, or a final clean-up of an agreement text.
“We are expecting that the upcoming technical process will wrap up in time as scheduled, so that at the end of January 2026 President Prabowo and President Trump can sign the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade,” Hartarto said.
Indonesian trade negotiators have been in “intensive” talks with their Washington counterparts since Trump threatened to levy a 32 percent duty on Indonesian exports.
Under the July framework, US tariffs on Indonesian imports were lowered to 19 percent, with Jakarta committing to measures to balance trade with Washington, including removing tariffs on more than 99 percent of American imports and scrapping all non-tariff barriers facing American companies.
Jakarta also pledged to import $15 billion worth of energy products and $4.5 billion worth of agricultural products such as soybeans, wheat and cotton, from the US.
“Indonesia will also get tariff exemptions on top Indonesian goods, such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa,” Hartarto said.
“This is certainly good news, especially for Indonesian industries directly impacted by the tariff policy, especially labor-intensive sectors that employ around 5 million workers.”
In the past decade, Indonesia has consistently posted trade surpluses with the US, its second-largest export market after China.
From January to October, data from the Indonesian trade ministry showed two-way trade valued at nearly $36.2 billion, with Jakarta posting a $14.9 billion surplus.
