Minority community leaders and rights activists have come down on BNP’s acting chief Tarique Rahman – currently living in London and convicted in a number of cases including corruption and colluding with militants over the attempt to assassinate then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina – for what they called an attempt to justify “undemocratic action to grab power and mislead the world with lies and denials.”
Referring to BNP-Jamaat opting to stay out of the electoral race in 2013 and unleashing street violence that left scores of people burnt and hundreds of homes belonging to members of the minority community burnt, they stressed that the acting BNP chief’s recent speeches and remarks were a “chilling instigation.”
Tarique sought to frame Awami League for the ongoing spell of violence and did not acknowledge the reported involvement of his party men in the attacks, they added.
“As the main opposition party, we see it as our duty to restore the power that was unjustly taken away from the citizens,” Tarique was quoted in a recent interview.
“Unfortunately, Tarique Rahman – fleeing justice and living a comfortable life in London – is the leader of BNP. In multiple cases, he has been convicted. A convicted criminal is now acting as the chairman of the party,” said Prof Mizaur Rahman, a law teacher at Dhaka University and former chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh.
Referring to Tarique’s remark on “BNP’s duty to restore power,” he said, “Every political party has the right to protest peacefully against the government. But no democratic state gives the opposition parties the license to commit crimes in the name of protest.”
“Tarique’s call for ‘insurrection’ in an interview with The Diplomat openly challenges the law and order situation in Bangladesh – breakdown of which will cause human and economic losses,” the former NHRC chairman said.
Read: Renewed attempts to absolve Tarique Rahman from his role in Aug 21 grenade attack?
Since Tarique’s interview was published on December 18, BNP leaders, activists and supporters have vigorously shared it on social media. Hours later, a train was set on fire in Dhaka that saw four passengers, including a mother and her child, burnt to death — just before the hartal called by BNP and likeminded opposition parties began on December 19.
Prior to BNP’s October 28 grand rally in Dhaka, Tarique made a similar appeal to “decide the country’s fate on the streets.” A police constable was killed in a clash, surrounding the rally, with BNP supporters in Dhaka. Since October 28, BNP’s anti-government blockades and hartals have led to the burning of almost 400 vehicles nationwide, according to the government. During this time, arson attacks and acts of sabotage, including cutting off rail track, have caused deaths and critical injuries.
“Tarique has no connection with ground reality and has incessantly fabricated stories to draw foreign intervention,” added Prof Rahman. He believed that with this latest interview, Tarique is again attempting to mislead the world and sweep his proven crimes under the rug.
“Our party adheres to a policy of not using religion as a political tool,” Tarique was quoted in the interview as saying. Regarding BNP’s stance on minorities and past records, Nirmal Rozario, president of Bangladesh Christian Association, remarked, “Tarique’s statement is laden with hypocrisy. The difference between his and his party’s words and actions is like day and night.”
“This latest claim comes after teaming up with Jamaat that openly advocates for Shariah law, and continued denial of BNP-Jamaat’s orchestrated violence against minority communities over the years,” he added.
“Tarique’s father, the first military ruler of the country who assumed power after the assassination of the Father of the Nation, brought communal amendments in the constitution and introduced the politics of communalism by opposing the ideals of secularism. When his mother assumed power in 1991, a deadly spell of persecution descended upon the minorities. And the last term between 2001 and 2006, when Tarique reportedly wielded influence on his mother’s government, witnessed state sponsored attacks on minorities. From 2013 to 2015, hundreds of houses belonging to minorities were vandalised, burnt and looted. There has never been any acknowledgement or remorse,” said Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the country’s largest minority platform, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad.
He also questioned how responsible it was of the publication to circulate statements of a convicted criminal. He rejected Tarique’s claim of “another 62 political parties” not contesting the upcoming polls. The number of registered parties stood at 44. Of these, over 26 parties have decided to take part in the election.
He also recalled that portraying Tarique as a symbol of “kleptocratic government and violent politics” in Bangladesh, the US embassy in Dhaka recommended blocking his entry to the United States, according to a US embassy cable leaked in September 2011.