The National Standing Committee of the Bnp in a statement to the press on Thursday termed the directive given by the Director General of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) to open fire on political workers as totally beyond jurisdiction and in contravention of law.
Expressing grave concern at and condemning the statement of the BGB chief they said that the political crisis in the country was deepening as the Awami League Government which, they said came to power illegally, was refusing to accept the people’s demand for an acceptable and participatory election in the country.
The BGB chief who addressed a press conference earlier in the day at the headquarters of the Guards said that ‘order to open fire on attackers might be given to save life and property’ if members of law enforcing agencies and the ordinary people are attacked. For this BGB members might have to take up arms and if necessary use arms to save life, he was quoted as saying.In the statement signed by party vice chairman Selima Rahman Bnp standing committee members said that in the absence of democracy the unrepresentative government has introduced an authoritarian rule in the country. They have far away from resolving the prevailing crisis, but are instead trying to suppress the movement of the democracy-minded people by the law enforcing agencies of the state.
Stating that those in power starting from the highest level were making provocative statements and given threats, and at the same time giving illegal orders and spelling out politically biased points of view. The BNP standing committee members urged the law enforcing agencies to play neutral rules.
They said that in the past way beak in 1974 dissenting opinion was suppressed in the same fashion. Freedom of the news media was snatched, the judiciary taken under control and opposition parties were shot at sight.
The standing committee members said that a 1974-like situation was prevailing in the country today. Former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has been confined to her Gulshan party office for 12 days. Opposition leaders and workers were being shot on streets. At least 13 opposition political workers were killed and several hundred others injured in shots fired by police and ‘terrirists engaged by the government’.
The statement said that the senior leaders and workers of the opposition including acting general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were being tortured in custody while thousands others were being harassed through filing of fabricated cases.
The Bnp standing committee members said they believed that reply to such evil activities would be given by restoring the lost fundamental rights, right to voting and democracy by rallying with the people. – Staff Reporter
