“This’s the second day of the new year. We hope that it’ll be a wonderful year for us. We dream of a beautiful Bangladesh this year by coming out of pains and sufferings in our lives caused by Coronavirus,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion, he said, “But the reality is that Bangladesh is now being called as a country of the hybrid regime. Everyone talks about democracy but there’s no democracy here. In fact, one-party governing system has been established undercover of democracy.”
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Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yousuf Smriti Parishad arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club in memory of BNP vice-chairman Kamal Ibne Yusuf who died of coronavirus on December 9 last.
Fakhrul said the nation liberated the country in 1971 with the dream of having a democratic state and society. “But our dream has been shattered repeatedly…even after the 50 years of independence, we can’t say with pride that we live in an independent and democratic country where our rights are ensured. What can be more unfortunate than this?”
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He said everything— the government, parliament and bureaucracy -- is there in the county, but people have no right.
The BNP leader said around 300 people were subjected to extrajudicial killings in 2020 by government agencies.
He bemoaned that the entire world, not only Bangladesh, has been going through a tough time due to Coronavirus and the dying condition of democracy. “Authoritarianism and dictatorship are growing such a way that arrogance and negligence towards people have now become part of current politics across the world.”
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Fakhrul said their party has been working and making efforts to come out of this situation by ‘restoring’ multi-party democracy introduced by BNP founder Ziaur Rahman. “But that's not enough.”
He said the government has been carrying out serious ‘repressive acts’ by jailing their party leaders and implicating them in ‘false’ cases. “Over 500 people were made disappeared and more than 1,000 others killed. All these victims are political activists. In the last year, cases under the Digital Security Act were filed against 157 journalists who revealed the truth. So, where’s democracy?”
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The BNP leader said their party wants to turn Bangladesh into a democratic country by protecting the country’s independence. “We don’t believe in (foreign) masters. We don’t want to be subservient to anyone. We want to stand in the global arena with our heads high.”
He urged all to get united to establish a government of people and ‘restore’ democracy and their rights by defeating the current ‘monstrous and fascist’ regime through a strong struggle.
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Fakhrul recalled Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yousuf’s contributions to the country and BNP as a genuine politician.