BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday night said the whole world is supporting Bangladesh’s process of democratic transition through the next national election.
“The entire world supports our democratic transition. Especially the democratic world is fully behind it, he said while talking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after returning home from the United States on an Emirates Airlines flight.
“Our message is very clear. To return to democracy, we will take part in the February election as per the instructions given by our leader Tarique Rahman and we are preparing for it,” Fakhrul added.
He went to New York on 23 September as part of the delegation led by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to attend the 80th UN General Assembly.
The Chief Adviser returned home on 2 October, while Fakhrul came back a day later after joining a BNP programme in the United States.
Other members of the delegation included BNP Acting Chairman’s adviser Humayun Kabir, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, NCP member secretary Akhtar Hossain and joint convener Tasnim Jara.
When asked whether he had talks with representatives of other countries during the UN session, Fakhrul said they spook with everyone, and naturally those who went together also talked to each other.
On the visit, he said, “At the invitation of the Chief Adviser, we joined the 80th UN General Assembly as part of his team. We carried out our duties as expected, and I believe the visit was successful.”
He also said it was significant that, for the first time, the Chief Adviser invited several major political parties to join him, showing national unity. “In that sense, the visit was certainly a success. Bangladesh’s voice has reached the world.”
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Fakhrul said the meetings held alongside the UN session were also important. “It was very good for Bangladesh, and as a whole, it was good for democracy.”
Asked about the harassment faced at New York airport, he said, “We do not take it very seriously. This is part of Awami League’s culture to create such incidents.”