BNP
Expose real character of BNP to the world: PM to journalists
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (November 02, 2023) urged the country’s journalists to expose the real face of the BNP before the international community as the opposition party’s activists swooped on the media persons who were covering their October 28 rally.
“You, journalists, should expose internationally the real character of those who attacked you while performing duty,” she said.
The premier was addressing the Delegates Conference-2023 of BFUJ-Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists at the National Press Club in the city.
Noting that the anti-liberation forces have no right here in Bangladesh, she said, “Those who believe in terrorism and militancy have no right here. They don’t want the welfare of the people of this country and they are foes of the people.”
The PM said the attackers of journalists and police must pay as some 30 journalists were injured in the attacks carried out by BNP men on October 28 last.
Read more: Day 3 of blockade: 4 vehicles burnt in Dhaka, Narayanganj so far
She said the BNP men carried out attacks even in disguise on that day, believing that they could remain unidentified and escape punishment. But they’ve finally been caught, she said.
“They carried such misdeeds. Those who kill and attack journalists and police must face punishment,” she said.
Hasina strongly condemned the way BNP attacked journalists and police. “Committing terrorist acts is their character,” she said.
She also blasted different international organisations of journalists, including Reporters Without Borders for keeping silent over this attack.
“Where are they now? We don’t see them and don’t hear any words from them. Where have they disappeared suddenly?” she said.
The PM said some 30 journalists were injured and some have been receiving treatment in hospitals. “But we don’t hear anything from any of them,” she said.
She compared the BNP’s attack on the police hospital here to the bombing on a Palestine hospital by Israel.
They (BNP) carried out the attack on a hospital here the same way the Israel bombed a Palestine hospital and killed women and children.
“I don’t know if they are taking lessons from the Jews,” said the prime minister.
Talking about the 9th wage board for journalists, PM Hasina said it is the responsibility of the owners to implement it. It is very unfortunate that they filed a case instead of implementing it.
She said the preparation continues to form the 10th wage board and the government has a plan to bring electronic media journalists under the wage board.
She put emphasis on bringing the journalists who are working outside Dhaka under the coverage of the wage board.
The premier announced to provide another amount of Tk 10 crore as donation to the Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust. The fund was formed with the seed money provided by the prime minister.
She assured the journalists working outside Dhaka of giving plots to them under district-based housing projects.
Noting that there is a huge number of newspapers in Bangladesh, she said the number of newspapers is not so high even in many developed and rich countries. There are 3,241 newspapers in the country, she said.
Turning to the development of Bangladesh, she said today’s Bangladesh has gained the status of a developing country thanks to the continuation of the democracy and the government from 2009-2023.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud spoke as the special guest at the function chaired by BFUJ President Omar Faruque.
BFUJ Secretary General Dip Azad conducted the event, while President of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) Sohel Haider Chowdhury and leaders of different units of BFUJ spoke on the occasion.
In the function, former BFUJ leaders were honoured with crests.
Read more: EC letter inviting BNP’s jailed leader for talks on polls returns undelivered: Sources
Day 3 of blockade: 4 vehicles burnt in Dhaka, Narayanganj so far
Miscreants set four vehicles on fire in different parts of Dhaka city and Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj today (November 02, 2023), on the last day of the three-day blockade enforced by BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and their allies.
Witnesses said, miscreants set a bus of ‘Poristhan Paribahan’ on fire in Uttara’s Azampur area in Dhaka at 7:04 am.
Meanwhile, a group of miscreants set a private car on fire in Dhaka Education Board area at 4:45 am.
Minibus carrying guests to wedding ceremony set on fire in Ctg
A bus of ‘Moumita Paribahan’ was set on fire at 4:41 am in front of Mohammadpur Beribadh Dhaka Uddyan Housing Project.
Miscreants also set a cotton-carrying truck on fire at 6:40 am at Kanchan Road in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj district.
The second day of the three-day blockade was marked by clashes, vandalism and torching of vehicles in Dhaka and elsewhere on Wednesday.
7 incidents of arson occur Tuesday: Fire Service
Law enforcers detained more than 100 leaders and activists of BNP and other opposition parties across the country on the second day of the road, rail and waterways blockade.
3-day blockade: 16 arson attacks till this morning, says Fire Service
CPJ seeks impartial investigation into assaults on journalists covering recent political rallies
Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the assaults on at least 27 journalists covering recent political rallies and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said.
On October 28, at least 27 journalists covering rallies in Dhaka were attacked.
CPJ spoke to journalists who accused BNP supporters of attacking the journalists.
Md Rafsan Jani, a crime reporter for the daily Kalbela newspaper, told CPJ that he was filming BNP supporters assaulting police officers when two demonstrators approached him and took his phone and identification card.
A group of BNP supporters then surrounded Jani and beat him with iron rods, sticks, and pipes as he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist, he said, adding that he managed to escape after around 20 minutes.
CPJ, rights groups call for stopping ‘harassment’ of journalist Rozina
As of November 1, his items had not been returned.
The CPJ also took note of The Daily Star report that claimed Awami League demonstrators beat the daily Kalbela reporter Abu Saleh Musa while covering their rally.
“The attacks on at least 27 Bangladeshi journalists covering recent political rallies in Dhaka must see swift and transparent accountability,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
“The leadership and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League, as well as police, must respect the rights of journalists to freely and safely report on the lead-up to the upcoming election scheduled for January,” he said.
SA Masum, a photographer for the daily Inqilab newspaper, told CPJ that he was taking photos of a confrontation between Awami League and BNP supporters when his head was repeatedly struck from behind with what he suspected to be a bamboo stick, knocking him unconscious while the attackers, whom he did not identify, continued to beat him.
Bystanders at the scene rescued Masum and took him to the hospital, where he was treated for a concussion and severe bruising and open lesions throughout his body, according to the journalist, who shared photos of his injuries with CPJ.
Md Sirajum Salekin, a crime reporter for the Dhaka Times, told CPJ that he was on his motorcycle on the way to cover clashes at the chief justice’s residence when a vehicle hit his motorcycle from behind, causing him to fall and break two bones in his right leg.
Record number of journalists jailed worldwide in 2020: CPJ
Salekin said he believed he was targeted because he was wearing his press badge and his motorcycle was marked with a sticker of the Dhaka Times.
Mohammad Ali Mazed, a video reporter for the French news agency Agence France-Presse, told CPJ that he was covering a clash between police and BNP demonstrators while holding a camera and press identification when five to six demonstrators surrounded him.
The demonstrators damaged Mazed’s camera and other news equipment and beat him on his head, back, and right shoulder with bamboo sticks for around three minutes until the journalist fled the scene with the assistance of bystanders, he said.
CPJ names Shahidul Alam among four for Int’l Press Freedom Awards 2020
Sazzad Hossain, a freelance photographer working with Bangla Tribune and international outlets, including the British newspaper The Guardian and photo agency SOPA Images, told CPJ that BNP protesters threw broken bricks at him and trampled him while he was covering a clash with police.
Salahuddin Ahmed Shamim, a freelance photographer reporting for the news agency Fair News Service, told CPJ that he was covering BNP protesters assaulting police officers when seven to eight of the party’s supporters surrounded him, beat him in the back with bamboo sticks, and kicked him for around 15 minutes.
Two journalists who spoke to CPJ — Sheikh Hasan Ali, chief photojournalist for Kaler Kantho newspaper, and Ahammad Foyez, senior correspondent for New Age newspaper — said they were struck with rubber bullets when police attempted to disperse BNP protesters, leaving them with minor injuries.
Ali told CPJ that an unidentified man hit the Kaler Kantho photographer Lutfor Rahman with a bamboo stick on his right shoulder while covering the same clashes.
Md Hanif Rahman, a photographer for Ekushey TV, told CPJ that he and Ekushey TV reporter Touhidur Rahman were covering an arson attack on a police checkpoint when they were surrounded by a group of 10 to 12 men who beat him with pipes and sticks and pushed Touhidur.
Rabiul Islam Rubel, a reporter for the daily Kalbela, told CPJ that he was among a crowd of BNP supporters while covering the clashes at the chief justice’s residence when 15 to 20 men threw bricks at him while shouting that journalists are “government brokers.”
Jony Rayhan, a reporter for the daily Kalbela, told CPJ that BNP supporters beat him while covering their rally. Rayhan was also injured by a sound grenade that landed in front of him while police were trying to disperse the demonstrators, he said.
Salman Tareque Sakil, chief reporter for Bangla Tribune, told CPJ that he sustained a leg fracture after a brick was thrown at him while covering the BNP rally.
Jubair Ahmed, a Bangla Tribune reporter, told CPJ that while police were dispersing BNP demonstrators, a tear gas shell landed in front of him, blurring his vision before the protesters trampled him while fleeing the scene.
Tahir Zaman, a reporter for the news website The Report, was also injured by a rubber bullet while covering clashes at the BNP rally, CPJ said.
Read more: Day 3 of blockade: 4 vehicles burnt in Dhaka, Narayanganj so far
3-day blockade: 16 arson attacks till this morning, says Fire Service
At least 16 incidents of arson took place across Bangladesh in over 24 hours till this morning (November 01, 2023) during the road, rail and waterway blockade enforced by the BNP, Jamaat and its allies.
Sources at the media cell of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters said that they got information of 16 arson attacks across the country.
The reports of fire incidents reached the fire service control room from 6 am yesterday till 9 am today.
No long route buses leave from Ctg on first day of blockade: 14 held
Among the arson attacks, four occurred in Dhaka city (Postogola, Khilgaon, Baridhara), six in Dhaka division (Savar, Gazipur), three each in Chattogram (Karnaphuli, Rangunia) and Rajshahi (Bogura, Sirajganj) divisions.
Nine buses, two covered vans, two trucks, one pick-up van, two commercial product showrooms and one police box were burned, fire department's media cell said.
AL holding marches, sit-ins on streets protesting BNP-Jamaat’s blockade
A three-day blockade of road, rail and waterways, enforced by BNP, Jamaat and like-minded opposition parties, began on Tuesday (October 31, 2023) to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit and hold the next election under a non-party, neutral administration.
Countrywide blockade: Long-route bus services from Khulna suspended
‘Is Biden holding dialogue with Trump?’
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (October 31, 2023) said she will have dialogue with the opposition if the US President Joe Biden does the same with former president and 2024 US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“Is (US President) Biden holding dialogue with Mr Trump? If Biden sits with Trump for dialogue, then I will hold the dialogue (with opposition),” she said at a press conference referring to the US ambassador's call for dialogue with the opposition earlier today.
Also read: PM Hasina describes as successful her visit to Belgium for Global Gateway Forum
Following a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas expressed hope that all sides going forward will engage in a “dialogue” without preconditions to de-escalate tensions and find a path forward to free, fair and peaceful elections.
The prime minister also said that the people of Bangladesh “do not want any dialogue with killers.”
“No dialogue with the killers. This is Bangladesh. People of the country also do not want any dialogue with killers,” she told the press conference.
Election will be held and it will be in due time, she added.
Also read: Some foreign orgs should apply for registration to form political platform: Momen
The prime minister accused the BNP of wanting to create an unusual situation ahead of the national election.
“BNP does not want an election; they want to create an unusual situation,” she said.
“BNP is a party of terrorists,” PM Hasina said.
Also read: Haas meets CEC, hopes all sides will engage in dialogue without preconditions
Opposition parties’ 3-day countrywide blockade underway
A three-day blockade of road, rail and waterways, enforced by BNP and like-minded opposition parties, across the country began this morning to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit and hold the next election under a non-party, neutral administration.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also enforced the blockade simultaneously from this morning to Thursday evening with the same demands.
Apart from BNP and Jamaat, the 12-party alliance, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, LDP, Gonoforum and People’s Party, Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Labour Party and NDM are also observing the programme separately.
Meanwhile, AL has vowed to resist any violence during the blockade.
Read more: Jamaat to observe countrywide blockade program on Oct 31 and Nov 1-2
Police and other law enforcement agencies have already alerted their units to increase vigilance and beef up security across the country.
Police have also taken up positions and set up checkpoints at the entry points and all major points of Dhaka.
After observing a day-long hartal, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday evening announced the countrywide blockade for three consecutive days.
He, however, said vehicles of newspapers or media, ambulances and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines will remain out of the purview of the three-day blockade.
Read more: BNP sends letter to foreign missions blaming govt, police for Oct 28 violence
‘Said what I was asked to say at BNP office’: So-called ‘Biden’s adviser’ Arefy at DB Office
Mian Zahidul Islam Arefy, who claimed to be an “adviser to US President Joe Biden,” at the DB office said that he “only followed instructions he received at the BNP office.”
A video that has been circulating on social media, shows Arefy talking to DB officials.
No DB officials have officially commented on this as of filing this report.
Read: Mian Arefy, so-called ‘adviser to Biden’, detained from Dhaka Airport
During his statement at the DB office, Arefy in the video is heard saying, “On October 28, Lt General (retired) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi brought me to the BNP party office at 3 pm to discuss their program. They requested me to deliver a speech. BNP leader Ishraque Hossain was also present, along with many others I didn't recognize. They asked me to introduce myself as a ‘leader of the Democratic Committee’ and ‘Joe Biden's adviser,’ and deliver a speech. I said what I was asked to say.”
Arefy said he was admitting his mistake: “I said what I was asked to say at the BNP office. I'm sorry for what I said, I was wrong.”
Read: Posing as ‘adviser to US President’: Should be arrested immediately, Momen says about Arefy
Arefy was detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka yesterday and subsequently taken to the DB headquarters on Minto Road for interrogation.
On Saturday, Arefy visited the BNP central office in Naya Paltan and presented himself as an "adviser to US President Biden" when speaking to reporters.
Alos read: Fakhrul denied bail, sent to jail
BNP-Police Clashes: At least 70 BNP leaders, activists injured in N'ganj
At least 70 people were injured as the activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and police locked into clashes during the BNP’s dawn-to-dusk nationwide hartal in Narayanganj's Araihazar and Press Club areas on Sunday.
Nazrul Islam Azad, assistant secretary of BNP's international affairs, former joint convener of district BNP Mashukul Islam Azad, Araihazar upazila BNP president Yusuf Khan Bhuiyan, general secretary Jewel Ahmed were among the injured.
'Attacks on Saturday, Sunday were pre-planned by BNP': Obaidul Quader
In support of BNP's hartal, the leaders and activists of Araihazar Upazila BNP and its associate bodies led by BNP International Affairs Assistant Secretary Nazrul Islam Azad, brought out a procession on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway this morning.
When they took position in the Panchrukhi area of Dhaka-Sylhet highway and blocked the road by burning the tires, police charged with batons to disperse them, triggering the clash.
BNP leader Nazrul Islam Azad said police charged with batons and fired rubber bullets in our peaceful march, leaving at least 20 leaders and activists injured including me.
Fakhrul brought to DB office for questioning: DMP Commissioner
Additional Superintendent of Narayanganj Police (DB)Tariqul Islam said BNP men blocked Araihazar’s Dhaka-Sylhet highway and police tried to remove them from the road.
When BNP men threw bricks at the police, police dispersed them to bring the situation under control, the ASP added.
Meanwhile, a chase and counter chase between BNP activists and leaders took place in Narayanganj’s Press club area on Sunday morning.
The incident occurred in front of Narayanganj Press Club at around 8 am on Sunday.
BNP announces 3-day countrywide blockade from Tuesday
Agitated leaders and activists of BNP vandalized cars and hurled brickbats along with arson on the streets. Meanwhile, police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control.
Narayanganj Metropolitan BNP member secretary Abu Al Yusuf Khan Tipu claimed that “When we were observing hartal peacefully, the police fired on us, leaving our 50 leaders and activists injured.
'Attacks on Saturday, Sunday were pre-planned by BNP': Obaidul Quader
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader has said that the attacks on Saturday and Sunday are pre-planned by BNP to execute their planned conspiracy for seizing power by any means.
He said, "The attacks on Saturday and Sunday are pre-planned by BNP. They had been preparing for the attack for a long time."
The minister said these things at a press conference at the political office of the Awami League President office in Dhanmondi on Sunday (October 29) afternoon.
Fakhrul brought to DB office for questioning: DMP Commissioner
Obaidul Quader said, "When talking about democratic movement, BNP was secretly preparing to implement the terrorist style of their politics. They were taking time to get back to their old ways, their terrible politics. In time they chose the way to execute their planned conspiracy."
The minister said they had challenged the law enforcement agencies.
"The attack on the Chief Justice's residence is an insult to the country's judiciary," he opined.
BNP announces 3-day countrywide blockade from Tuesday
"What have they not done in the last two days? BNP is involved in the conspiracy to seize power by any means. The BNP-Jamaat alliance has once again indulged in brutal terrorist activities to disrupt the country's democratic process," he added.
Quader said BNP and their allies are destroying the fair and normal political environment as it does not believe in democratic ideals.
BNP man dies ‘while fleeing after attempting to set bus on fire’ in Dhaka
"Yesterday's brutal attack and killing of a policeman in broad daylight, attack on the residence of the Chief Justice, fire in the hospital were part of Tariq Rahman's 'take back' formula," he also said.
BNP man dies ‘while fleeing after attempting to set bus on fire’ in Dhaka
A 35-year-old local BNP leader, who tried to set a bus on fire, died after falling off a building while fleeing in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area during the nationwide daylong hartal enforced by BNP and Jamaat on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Abdur Rashid, local government affairs secretary of Adabor ward 30 unit of BNP.
Police cordon off BNP's central office with crime scene tape
Quoting witnesses, Mahfuzul Haque, officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur Police Station, said Rashid tried to set a bus on fire in Mohammadpur Town Hall area during the hartal.
At one stage, local people chased him, forcing him to run away.
Ctg city traffic normal despite hartal
Being chased, he went to the rooftop of a building and fell from there while trying to jump to another building.
Police sent the body to the local hospital morgue.
Police conduct drives at several senior BNP leaders’ homes in Dhaka
Aminul Haque, member secretary of Dhaka North unit of BNP, said that a group of “Awami League men beat Rashid up mercilessly and killed him after pushing him from an under-construction building.”