politics
AL's strength drawn from the people: Info Minister
Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Friday said their party is not dependent on any foreign force, rather the people of Bangladesh are the key source of the Awami League's strength.
"We have good relations with all countries and India is our true friend".
The Minister made these remarks while addressing a discussion meeting on 'Bangabandhu Assassination: Politics of Post-75 Bangladesh' marking the 47th Martyrdom Anniversary and National Mourning Day of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Hall of Chittagong Press Club on Friday evening.
Recalling August 15, Hasan, also AL joint general secretary said, 'Imam Hussain was slaughtered in Karbala but no women and children were killed there.
On August 15, 1975, 10-year-old child Sheikh Russell, four-year-old Sukanto Babu, and 11-year-old Baby Serniabat were killed. Even pregnant Begum Arzoo Moni did not escape the killers.
“A crime against humanity was indeed committed that day,” added the minister.
Read: Moscow reaffirms its commitment to strengthen cooperation with Dhaka
Now, it is our responsibility to unmask the conspirators involved in the August 15 massacre including Ziaur Rahman and his family members, who are the most beneficiaries of this massacre.
“They are still continuing their conspiracies as the country heading towards another national election”, he added.
M A Salam, president of Chattogram North District Awami League presided over the meeting while Joint General Secretary Debashish Palit moderated the meeting.
General Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Ataur Rahman, Vice President Hero Freedom Fighter Professor Mohammad Moinuddin, Abul Kalam Azad, ATM Payrul Islam, Mohiuddin Ahmed Rashed, Swajan Kumar Talukder, among others, spoke.
BNP demands explanation of Momen's statement on India
Questioning whether the Awami League government has been in power at the "mercy" of India, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday demanded an explanation of the foreign minister's recent statement on seeking India's backing to keep PM Sheikh Hasina in power.
"Ministers from a rally of Awami League in Dhaka issued various threats and used terrorist language. When you're issuing so many threats, then why does your foreign minister seek India's help to sustain your government and your prime minister?" he said.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader said their party wants an explanation of the foreign minister's statement. “We want to know from the government, the foreign minister and also from the Indian government what is the meaning of what the foreign minister said? Does it mean that this government is sustaining with India’s backing? People want to know the meaning of this. It's urgent.”
He also said questions have been raised about whether Bangladesh will really be an independent state or not, whether Bangladesh will really be a democratic country or not and whether the people of Bangladesh will get back their rights or not.
Since it came to power, Fakhrul said, Awami League has snatched the rights of the people of Bangladesh in a very well-planned way while the constitution has been amended annulling the provisions of the caretaker government and depriving people of their scope to vote and elect their representatives every five years.
Jatiyatabadi Swechchasebak Dal arranged the discussion at the Jatiya Press Club marking its 42nd founding anniversary.
Earlier at a Janmashtami programme in Chattogram on Thursday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen reportedly said that he urged the Indian government to back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina so that she can stay in power.
About the killing of five people in a girder accident in the city's Uttara area on Monday, Fakhrul said arresting the crane operator, security guard, and other staff is not enough.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project director will have to be made accountable for the incident, he added. "No action has been taken against them so far."
The BNP leader said Obaidul Quader used to make many ‘unguarded’ comments about his political opponents, but many people die in road accidents every day as there is no discipline and rules anywhere. “There is no good governance. They (AL leaders) are only plundering from everywhere.”
He said the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet in her statement said they have found evidence of Rapid Action Battalion or RAB's involvement in human rights violations and enforced disappearances.
“We want to find the missing people immediately. We also want an impartial investigation into the incidents of human rights violations, including enforced disappearance,” the BNP leader said.
Fakhrul urged the ruling party to face BNP on the streets politically after quitting power. “You have to step down. One can talk a lot by staying in power. Quit power, then you will understand how much strength you have and how many people are on your side in the country.”
He also said Awami League has become an ‘enemy’ of the people in Bangladesh by destroying democracy.
“This government can’t be given any more time. We’re not willing to give Awami League any more time. We must forge the unity of the people and take over the streets at the same time to defeat this regime. We are moving towards that goal,” Fakhrul said.
Momen's India remarks have no link with AL: Quader
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said the Awami League has never requested India to provide the party with support to stay in power.
"The Awami League has never requested India to provide support to us to stay in power and no one has been given responsibility by Sheikh Hasina to say it. This may be one's personal opinion," he said.
Also read: I told India to help maintain stability in Bangladesh, Momen clarifies
He said this after inaugurating the central Janmashtami procession at Palashi intersection in the capital on Friday.
He commented that Bangladesh has no hostile relationship with India, and the country had been harmed by its hostility with India in the past
He also said that there were no communal attacks except for a few isolated incidents after Hasina's government came to power.
Also read: Requested India to help Bangladesh maintain stability, harmony: Momen
Those who attacked the Hindu community were miscreants,he added.
Human Rights Violation: BNP wants impendent probe under UN supervision
In tune with UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, BNP on Thursday demanded an independent investigation into the incidents of human rights violations, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, under the supervision of the UN.
“More than 600 political leaders and activists, civil society members and labour leaders have been subjected to enforced disappearance. Most of them were not found…enforced disappearance is a crime against humanity. Making a person disappear by the state is a grievous offence. It can’t be accepted. So, this type of crime should be investigated,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Talking to reporters at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office, he said the UN Human Rights Commissioner rightly said a fair, neutral and independent inquiry must be carried out into the incidents and those involved in such crimes will have to be brought to justice.
Also read: BNP meets UN Human Rights Commission's Asia-Pacific chief
The BNP leader said Bachelet also talked about the Rapid Action Battalion’s involvement with such incidents.
“We want an independent investigation under the supervision of the UN into the incidents to reveal the truth and take action against all those to be found involved (with the human rights violations),” he said.
Fakhrul said the UN rights chief's statements on enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and the human rights situations in Bangladesh have proved the truth of what the BNP has long been saying about the matters.
“We’ve long been saying that the enforced disappearances, killings and extrajudicial killings have been taking place with state patron. It’s a big problem,” he said.
Stating that people in Bangladesh were not known to the world of enforced disappearance, Fakhrul said it was Awami League which introduced enforced disappearance in the country after returning to power in 2008.
Referring to Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader’s remark that the United Nations has no jurisdiction to investigate any incidents of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, Fakhrul said the ruling party leader ostensibly admitted that these incidents happened here through his comment.
Earlier at a press conference on Wednesday, UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet voiced deep concerns over the allegations of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture in Bangladesh.
Also read: BNP renews call for Khaleda’s unconditional release
She also spoke of a neutral, independent and transparent investigation into the allegations, saying her office is ready to provide advice on how such a mechanism could be designed in line with international standards.
Replying to a question, Fakhrul said there is no atmosphere in the country to engage in talks with the ruling party over the country's political crisis.
“The political crisis here can't be resolved until our chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is released, the cases (filed against our leaders and activists) are withdrawn and until this government resigns handing over power to a neutral caretaker government and dissolving Parliament,” he said.
Trashing some media reports on BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s worsening health condition, Fakhrul said she is now doing well and all the parameters of her health are good.
“I've talked to doctors they said she has no new major problem. Basically, she is ill with various health complications. But nothing new happened to take her to a hospital. Her condition has deteriorated further," he said.
BNP meets UN Human Rights Commission's Asia-Pacific chief
A BNP delegation on Wednesday met Rory Mungoven, the head of UN Human Rights Commission's (OHCHR) Asia-Pacific section, at a city hotel and discussed the country’s human rights situation.
The four-member BNP delegation, led by the party’s human rights affairs secretary Advocate Asaduzzaman Asad, had around an hour-long meeting starting at 1:30pm with Mungoven at Hotel Intercontinental.
The other members of the delegation are Shyama Obaid, Tabith Awal and Barrister Abrar Ilias.
Read:BNP renews call for Khaleda’s unconditional release
Taking to reporters after the meeting, Asad said they talked about the human rights situation in Bangladesh at the meeting.
“We have explained the human rights situation in Bangladesh and talked about different incidents of human rights violation that were reported in the media,” he said.
Asked whether Mungoven made any comment about the human right situation in Bangladesh, he said, “He heard our speeches, but didn’t give any feedback. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights may talk about it during her press conference today (Wednesday).”
Shyama Obaid said they talked about the overall human rights situation of the country.
“We met Mungoven and gave our observations about the human rights condition. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet did not meet any politician in Bangladesh, we met her team member Mungoven,” he said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet arrived in Dhaka on August 14 on a four-day visit as Bangladesh looks forward to having a "constructive dialogue" with her for the promotion and protection of human rights.
It seems Bangladesh is paradise of mismanagement: GM Quader
Expressing profound shock at the loss of 11 lives in two separate incidents in the capital on Monday, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Tuesday said Bangladesh has apparently become a paradise of mismanagement.
In a condolence message, he said, “It seems that Bangladesh will be the world champion in mismanagement if a survey is conducted.”
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said it has become normal that countless mothers will lose their children every day due to negligence and mismanagement.
“Accidents have now become an order of the day be it on roads, waterways or in industrial plants or any public places. It can’t continue like this and it can’t be allowed to go on like this,” he observed.
Read:Accept tea workers' logical demand for pay hike: GM Quader
The Jatiya Party chief said the government must make public the investigation reports into the two incidents--girder crash at Uttara and a plastic factory fire at Chawkbazar in Dhaka.
He also called upon the authorities concerned to take legal action against those responsible for the incidents.
“Such heartbreaking deaths are unacceptable. The areas where heavy and hazardous work is going on should be protected and restricted. It has to be investigated for whose negligence the vulnerable site (of the BRT project) was not restricted and legal action should be taken against them,” the Jatiya Party chief said.
Besides, he said many people are losing lives in fire incidents, including six people at Chawkbazar on Monday. “It seems there’s no one to be held accountable for the incidents.
On Monday, five members of a family were killed as a girder of the BRT project lifted by a crane crashed on a private car in the city’s Uttara area.
Earlier in the day, at least six people were burnt to death in a fire that broke out at a plastic factory in Old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar area.
BNP renews call for Khaleda’s unconditional release
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday renewed their party’s demand for the unconditional release of Khaleda Zia for the sake of democracy.
Speaking at a doa mahfil at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he also said Khaleda Zia and democracy are inseparably linked.
"She struggled to restore democracy throughout her life. She has now been kept under house arrest by the fascist Awami League government due to her efforts to restore democracy. So, our first condition is that she be released unconditionally,” the BNP leader said.
He said Khaleda is not an ordinary leader as she has become an institution with her continuous struggle for democracy, emancipation and the wellbeing of people by sacrificing the happiness of her earthly life.
Fakhrul wised Khaleda a long life on the occasion of her birthday. “We pray to Allah for her recovery so that can return to us lead us in the days to come."
As part of BNP’s countrywide programme, its Dhaka north and south city units organised the doa mahfil, marking the 77th birthday of Khaleda.
According to BNP’s website, Khaleda Zia was born to Iskandar Majumder and Taiyaba Majumder on August 15, 1945, in Dinajpur district.
Fakhrul accused the Awami League government of 'usurping' power illegally, he said it has destroyed all the hopes and aspirations of the people of Bangladesh by resorting to repressive acts like Pakistani occupation forces.
Read:Corruption, plundering, suicidal deals behind energy crisis: BNP
"They have continued their fascist rule for 15 long years using the state machinery and unleashing a reign of terror through oppression,” he observed.
The BNP leader said Khaleda Zia was convicted in ‘false’ and ‘baseless’ cases while false cases were filed against 35 lakh people. “Our more than 600 leaders and workers have been subjected to enforced disappearance and over 1,000 other leaders and workers have been killed.”
He also said Chhatra Dal leader Noor-e-Alam and Swechchasebak Dal leader Abdur Rahim have recently been killed in police firing in Bhola. “Our leader and activists are being arrested and implicated in false cases every day.”
Referring to a recent report of Netra News on the horrific experiences of the enforced disappearance victims, Fakhrul said Amnesty International has strongly denounced the human rights violations by issuing a statement and urged the visiting UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet to take steps for an independent and impartial inquiry into these 'barbaric' practices.
"There is no reason to take the matter lightly. Many of our brothers were made disappeared and we did not get many of them back. Our over 600 leaders and activists have been made disappeared and tortured. From this programme, we demand that an impartial committee of the UN be formed to look into the matter and take action against those responsible," he said.
The BNP leader said the current government has lost ground under its feet as the country’s people are not with them. “But we know this regime won’t t go easily. That is why we want to mobilise people and all the political forces to remove this government."
BCL President demands resumption of politics on BUET campus
Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) President Al Nahian Khan Joy has made a demand to restart politics on the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) campus.
He made the demand at a program arranged by BCL on the occasion of National Mourning Day at Dhaka University’s iconic Raju Sculpture.
Joy requested the BUET authority to consider the matter of resuming student politics on the campus by making it safe saying "BCL activists have sacrificed their lives to make the BUET campus safe from the terrorists."
Mentioning yesterday's protest by students at BUET, Joy added "Active Jatiya Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Shibir activists are trying to spread their influence in the BUET campus. They tried to foil our program of commemorating the passing of Bangabandhu and his family members. BUET administration must find them out as their activities go against our constitution."
Read: Students protest BCL political programme on BUET campus
The BCL leader also demanded to bring back the Killers of Bangabandhu to the country from abroad and provide them with exemplary punishment.
BCL Dhaka University (DU) unit President Sanjit Chandra Das and General Secretary Saddam Hossen also demanded to bring back the killers of Bangabandhu and to ensure their punishment at the program.
A section of BUET students held a demonstration on Saturday as some former BCL leaders and activists held a prayer session and discussion program marking the National Mourning Day on the campus under the BCL banner, that created discontent among the incumbent students.
On October 11, 2019, the BUET authority banned all sorts of political organizations and their activities on the campus, days after some BCL leaders and activists tortured a student, Abrar Fahad, on October 7, 2019.
Bangabandhu will always encourage to fight against misrule,oppression, says GM Quader
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will always encourage the nation to fight against corruption, misrule and oppression, said Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader in a statement marking the National Mourning Day.
“Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had fought for the establishment of democracy and human rights throughout his life,” according to the statement issued on Sunday.
Read:GM Quader calls for white paper on corruption in the energy sector
“We pay our respect to late president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on this mourning day.”
The party also prayed seeking the eternal peace of the departed souls of the August 15 carnage.
“Our pledge on this mourning day is that we will build a ‘New Bangladesh’ by building a welfare state free from hunger, poverty, corruption and discrimination.”
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – the architect of the country’s independence -- was assassinated along with most of his family members at the dawn on August 15, 1975 by a cabal of army personnel under a deep-rooted conspiracy against the country and its independence.
Stern action if anyone creates anarchy: Tajul warns
Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Md Tajul Islam warned that stern action will be taken if anyone creates anarchy in the country by vandalism and bombings in the name of the movement.
He said, “Movement is democratic right of the people. But nobody has the right to create anarchy in the name of rights.”
Tajul urged the opposition political parties to play a responsible role in this regard.
The minister came up with the observation while addressing a discussion organised by Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association marking National Mourning Day at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Saturday as the chief guest.
A dua mahfil and blood donation campaign were also arranged on the occasion.
Criticising the opposition parties, he said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working relentlessly to fulfil the dream of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On the other hand, an anti-liberation force is engaged to confuse the people.
Tajul also said Bangladesh never loses its destination led by Sheikh Hasina.
Read: Quader asks party to be careful with words during crisis
The senior Awami League leader said people from all over the world are struggling due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The government has temporarily hiked the fuel prices to face the crisis. All have to face the crisis unitedly.
He also claimed that Bangladesh is still in a good position compared to the other countries in the world.
The minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always wants the wellbeing of the people.
“Whatever, she decides, it will be pro-people.”
Regarding foreign loans, Tajul said international organisations and other development partners offer debt to Bangladesh as the country can refund it.
He also urged the people to refrain from circulating propaganda about a Sri-Lanka-like situation in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association president Harun-ur-Rashid chaired the function while Bangladesh Awami League Health and Population Affairs Secretary Dr Rebeka Sultana, among others, was present.
Siful Islam Khan Biru, General Secretary of the organisation moderated it.