Dhaka, Oct 12 – The BNP on Friday said if the party is held responsible for killings in the August 21 grenade attack carried out during its rule, the present government would have to shoulder the responsibility for the carnage in BDR headquarters occurred during their rule.BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made this comments over the court observation at a press conference at party central office yesterday
He further said the AL have also to take the responsibility of killing of foreign diplomats, businessmen, NGO officials, university teachers, Imam-Muajjin, priests, bloggers and common people in Holey Artisan and other attacks by militants also occurred during its rule.
The BNP leader criticized the court’s observations in the verdict of August 21st grenade attack case saying that it was the exact reflection of political speech of leaders of the ruling Awami League.
“Like the countrymen, we have got stunned by newspapers reports that the heinous grenade attack was carried out with the help of the then state machineries. The party thinks it has similarity with the statement of Awami League,” he said.
He termed the court observations unexpected, illogical and unaccepted and said it can be put under questions as it did not say anything about the killings, enforced disappearances and repression on thousands of BNP leaders over the last 10 years.
In its observation, the court said the defeated forces of 1971 attempted to diminish the spirit of the Liberation War and halt development of the newly independent country by killing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members on August 15, 1975.
Following Bangabandhu’s assassination, four national leaders were murdered inside a prison through a conspiracy. But the conspiracy did not stop, rather continued. Later, an evil attempt was made on August 21, 2004 to turn the Awami League into a leaderless organisation, said
the observation.
Mirza Alamgir argued that since the BNP was not born in 1975 and no BNP men were found accused in connection with the assassination of the four national leaders inside a prison and no BNP men were implicated with the killing incidents how does the court come up with such
observations pointing finger at BNP for all these gruesome incidents.
Referring to the court’s observation over the ruling party’s attitude towards the opposition, he said the AL’s behavior to its political opposition is a blatant opposite to the court’s observation.
“We do expect that the AL will comply with the court’s observation in this regard,” he said.
The BNP leader mentioned that the court did not say anything in its observation about the repressive and oppressive acts that have been going on across the country for the last 10 years.
He said the observations have made the verdict questionable as the court did not say anything about the ongoing abductions, disappearances and fictitious cases being lodged against the BNP men.
The BNP leader said their party thinks that their acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and other party leaders were convicted in the August 21 grenade attack cases based on the second and illegal deposition of executed militant leader Mufti Hannan. He hoped that the apex court
will consider it.
On Wednesday, a speedy trial tribunal sentenced 19 people to death, 19 others, including BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, to life imprisonment and eight more to different terms of jail in two cases filed over the August 21 grenade attack on an AL rally in the capital in 2004. – Staff Reporter
