The BNP-led 20-party alliance has extended its ongoing 72-hour nationwide hartal by 48 hours till 6am Friday as part of its movement demanding a snap national election under a non-party administration and ‘resorting democracy and people’s voting right’ and protesting government’s repressive acts.
In a statement, BNP joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed, on behalf of the alliance, announced the extension of the shutdown programme to protest what he called shooting dead, maiming or injuring many opposition leaders and activists through ‘crossfire’. mass arrest of activists and the people, interference with and controlling the judiciary, repression on journalists to control the news media, and for not showing respect to the demand for restoration of voting rights withdrawal of false cases and release of arrested leaders and activists, and the plot to kill BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia by stopping food supply to her office.Now the shutdown that began at 6am on Sunday will end at 6am Friday. The hartal is going on alongside the BNP alliance’s nonstop countrywide transport blockade.
Earlier, the BNP-led 20-party alliance on Friday called a fresh 72-hour nationwide hartal from 6am on Sunday protesting what it said government’s repressive acts and growing incidents of extrajudicial killings’.
The 20-party also had enforced hartal for five consecutive days from Sunday last two weeks, forcing the authorities concerned to reschedule the Secondary Scholl Certificate (SSC) exams that fell during the hartal hours.
Salahuddin Ahmed said in his statement that the entre nation has been thrown into a suffocating situation because of the addiction to make a permanent settlement of the AL to power. The misuse of the state machinery to implement the design has led to the situation which surpassed mediaeval barbarism, he said.
He alleged that having failed to undo the democracy-loving people’s movement even after giving licence to the state forces to kill; the government was conspiring through different methods to kill Bnp chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The said that the people observed with utter surprise that the threats given by Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan to disconnect gas, electricity and water supply lines as well as stop the sup-ply of food to Khaleda’s office was implemented word for word by the government.
He said as in the rest of the country as a part of its conspiracy the AL exploded at its rally and made efforts to shift the blame for same to the 20-party alliance. He said, the ‘illegal’ rulers have failed to understand that the movement has spread to every home in all villages, and the leaders and workers of the 20-Party Alliance have reached the message of Khaleda Zia for maximum sacrifice from farmers’ homestead to the lanes and bylanes of the capital.
He said that at the final stage of the movement that have grown against ‘state anarchy’ the people were pledge-bound to achieve the right to the ballot, democracy and fundamental human rights. Urging the people on behalf of Khaleda Zia to observe hartal peacefully, he said that the movement would continue till the achievement of final victory.
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia enforced the blockade for an indefinite period on January 6 after police prevented her from coming out of her Gulshan office to join a planned rally of the 20-party alliance in the city to mark ‘Democracy Killing Day’ on January 5 last. – News Desk
