Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Tuesday welcomed the discussions held in Parliament and the remarks made by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed regarding its recent report on the government’s performance.
The anti-corruption watchdog stated that the reactions from government and police authorities regarding its report, titled “100 Days of the Government after the 13th National Parliamentary Election: Review of the Implementation of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commitments”, contribute positively to making its efforts more impactful.
In a press release, TIB concurred with the home minister’s observation that it does not conduct investigations.
The organisation clarified that it is not an investigative agency but a research-based anti-corruption and good governance organisation that operates through advocacy, public awareness, and citizen engagement.
TIB strongly refuted the minister’s claim that the report was prepared solely based on newspaper clippings, describing the allegation as “baseless.”
The organisation explained that its findings on law-and-order situation were gathered from Bangladesh Police and three well-known human rights organisations, as explicitly stated in the report.
The release further noted that TIB follows nationally and internationally recognised social science methodologies. While media reports are collected where relevant, the information undergoes rigorous multi-layered verification and is analysed alongside data from relevant government and non-governmental sources.
“Portraying TIB’s report as merely newspaper-clipping-based is not only unreasonable, but also an unsuccessful attempt to divert attention from the substantive issues raised,” the statement read.
TIB added that elected representatives and state institutions themselves often rely on media information for decision-making and communicating with the public.
Regarding a recent press briefing by police authorities, TIB observed that the police did not disagree with the report’s central observation that the law-and-order situation remains worrying.
However, TIB declined to address the police department’s expectation for a comparative analysis with previous administrations. The organisation stated that such a comparison falls outside the scope of the specific research report and, therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter.
