Almost two decades of BNP top brass’ denial of “orchestrating” the grisly August 21 grenade attack aimed at then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina and the elevation of Tarique Rahman as the acting chief of the party despite being sentenced to life imprisonment for “masterminding the attack” negated BNP’s claim of being a democratic party and upended Bangladesh’s political landscape forever, political analysts say.
In reference to Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s statement in which the BNP secretary general termed the trial of August 21 grenade attack cases a “state sponsored drama,” they were of the view that this stance makes the party’s demand for state reform seem “hollow”.
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“The BNP secretary general's comment on the August 21, 2004 tragedy indicates once more the denial mode the party is still caught in. Anyone who knows Bangladesh's history will know that what happened on August 21, on the watch of the BNP-Jamaat regime, was a tragedy of gigantic proportions. It was not a ‘natok’ or drama by the Awami League. The ‘natok’ was in the removal of all the evidence of the crime by the authorities and trying to persuade citizens into believing that one Joj Mia was behind a massacre which left 24 people dead and scores wounded,” observed eminent researcher and journalist Syed Badrul Ahsan.
“The BNP leadership would do well to come forth with an acknowledgement of the role of the then government in the making of the tragedy. They simply cannot hold on to their outdated mode of looking away from what happened in August 2004 when they were in power,” added Badrul.
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It was a well-orchestrated plan, executed through abuse of state power, a special court ruled, delivering verdicts in the two cases filed over the grenade attack.
"The specialised deadly Arges grenades that are used in wars were blasted at the Awami League's central office on 23 Bangabandhu Avenue in broad daylight with the help of the then state machinery," said Judge Shahed Nuruddin of Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 in the verdict. [The Daily Star]
After the assassination of the Father of the Nation on August 15, 1975, four national leaders were murdered in prison as part of a conspiracy. The conspiracy, however, did not end there, the court observed.
“Later, an evil effort was made to make the Awami League leaderless on August 21, 2004,” it said.
Quoting the testimony of prosecution witness Abdur Rashid, who was the junior vice president of Al-Markazul Islami Bangladesh, the court had said the accused “Sheikh Farid, Hannan, Abu Taher, Tajuddin and the witness himself went to Hawa Bhaban, known to be the alternative centre of power, in Banani in mid-August of 2004 on a microbus.”
“A little later Tarique showed up there,” reads the judgment.
In his confessional statement, Hannan also said they went to Hawa Bhaban on a microbus of Al-Markazul Islami Bangladesh and met Tarique, Haris, Babar, Mojaheed, Rezzakul and Rahim there.
“They were assured of all kinds of administrative support in the meeting when Tarique told them to carry out the plan and be in touch with Babar and Pintu,” according to the verdict.
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The projection of Tarique as a “victim of political vengeance” and refusal to accept such litany of evidence including independent media investigations and the verdict with testimonies of the perpetrators behind the attack only wither the party’s credibility, analysts added.
Ekushey Padak-winning journalist and researcher Ajoy Das Gupta said, “Not only did BNP deny this attack, but they also rejected a series of such grueling terror attacks including the series bomb blasts in 63 districts and rise of the dreaded militant outfit JMB, with the top leader known as ‘Bangla Bhai’, enjoying state patronage during the BNP-Jamaat government.”
“National and international media exposed how the BNP-Jamaat alliance enabled militants to roam free, turning the country into a safe haven for transnational terrorism,” he added.
BNP-Jamaat coalition’s last tenure had been described by Bertil Lintner as a “cocoon of terror" [Far Eastern Economic Review, Apr 4, 2002] and Eliza Griswold predicted an “Afghan style Islamist revolution” [The New York Times Magazine, Jan 23, 2005].
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Harun or Rashid, a senior journalist, also commented that the politics of denial is a futile image building exercise and such efforts would not help BNP gain credibility.
Tarique's “flagrant disregard” for the rule of law had provided potent ground for terrorists to gain a foothold in Bangladesh while also exacerbating poverty and weakening democratic institutions. “In short, much of what is wrong in Bangladesh can be blamed on Tarique and his cronies,” is what former US ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty, wrote to Washington, according to leaked cables.
Weeks back, a call by Tarique Rahman – the acting chief of BNP convicted in a litany of cases including money laundering and the 2004 grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina – from London that “the fate of the country will be decided on the streets” triggered criticism from rights activists and minority community leaders. This is an “an instigation to trigger a fresh spell of violence,” they said.
“The state of denial and call for hitting the streets to grab power explain why BNP remains reluctant to take part in polls. If they take office, they would again count on these militants and give perpetrators of the heinous crimes a free run,” Ajoy Das Gupta remarked.
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