BNP Standing Committee leader Brig (retd) Hannan Shah has said that the rulers do not alllow the opposition to hold 7 November Revolution and Solidarity Day rally in Dhaka or elsewhere in the country because they cannot forget the defeat they faced on the day in 1975.
Addressing a roundtable on ‘Intolerent Politics: Democracy Human Rights under threat’ at the National Press Club he said that the government allows neither democracy nor its culture by obstructing meetings and rallies of the opposition. He said that 80 leaders and workers of the BNP including the Mayor of Gazipur were injured by firing bullets during a protestrally organised on Sunday.The government had refused permission to the BNP to hold hold their Revolution and Solidarity Rally on Saturday in Dhaka. Reacting to this the BNP had observed protest day all over Bangladesh, including Gazipur on Sunday.
The roundtable was organised by the Bangladesh Labour Party, a component of the BNP-led 20-party alliance with its president Dr. Mustafizur Rahman Iran in the Chair. Gonoshasthya Kendra founder Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury, JAGPA president Shafiul Alam Prodhan, GreenWatch Dhaka editor, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Shikkhak Karmachari Oikya Jote president Principal Selim Bhuiyan and Labor Party secretary general Hamdullah Al-Mehedi also spoke at the roundtable among others.
Brigadier Hannan Shah said people were now being killed like the forces of Gonobahini and Rakkhi Bahini of the 1970s. Those who attack BNP’s founder Zia should not forget their role in killing many army officers by creating the Biplabi Sainik Sangstha. Its latest relfection has been observed in the BDR killings of 25 February 2009, he said.
The BNP leader complained that a mockery of trial was being staged by setting up a court in the Madrasah-e-Alia ground in Dhaka for trial of alleged crruption in their own organisation – Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust. Government leaders had alleged that Taka 22,000 crore had been siphoned off to Malaysia by BNP’s senior vice-president Tarique Rahman but they could trace not even Taka 22. Whatever he now says is now called treason and new cases were being filed against him
Hannan Shah said every BNP political worker faced multiple cases as an outcome of the government’s politics of intolerance. The law eforcing agencies and in some cases a section of the judiciary has been used in this intolerent politics, he said.
Recalling the sacrifices of 10 November sacrifice of Shaheed Nur Hossain he said that the autocratic forces that had killed hom are now in alliance with the present government which he termed autocratic. They had joined elections under the autocratic rulers in 1986, he recalled.
Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury said that the intolerent politics in Bangladesh had its origin in an office in New Delhi which wants a subservient government in the country to implement their imperialistic designs. He said that Baksal which was in full bloom in 1975 also had its origin in 1971. The prime minister had been made all powerful by framing a constitution to suit this, he said.
A valient freedom fighter Dr. Chowdhury said, we recall the support extended by Agartala during the war of Liberation. 10 million people had taken refuse in the neighbouring country, but 500,000 of them died without food. Agartala needs food supply but Bangladesh should not be utilised to carry weapons and soldiers to suppress democratic aspirations of people he said.
ShafiulAlam Prodhan said, democracy is a matter relevant to an independent country. The people would have tothink anew whether the country retains its independence and sovereignty. Elections is a part of democracy but cannot be viewed in isolagtion, he said.
The Jagpa chief said people plundering thousands of croroes of Taka move about freely but khaleda Zia faced trial in Madrasah Alia maidan for allegedly defalcating money of he own organisation. – GreenWatch Report
