A number of academics, war heroes, and journalists have criticised BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir for what they say his “unapologetic stance” and “patronage” to a local BNP leader who publicly asked party activists to “fight to assassinate” the prime minister and “finish off” Awami League, reports UNB.
They also pointed out the reluctance to condemn such behaviour of BNP’s top leadership. This trend goes against the democratic process and stands as a roadblock to peaceful assembly, they observed.
On Friday, at a rally in Sirajganj — attended by Mirza Fakhrul — the joint general secretary of BNP’s Sirajganj district unit was heard shouting the slogan, “This time, the fight is to kill Sheikh Hasina and finish off Awami League,” in a video shared from and condemned by AL’s verified, official Facebook page.
In the video, Fakhrul was seen on stage, and afterwards both were seen standing in close proximity.
“The video reveals Sirajganj BNP leader Rashedul Hasan Ranjon’s slogan was part of welcoming Fakhrul, while afterwards the latter standing beside the former indicates direct endorsement of such violent threats,” said eminent researcher and freedom fighter Ajoy Das Gupta.
“Unless Fakhrul endorses such aggressive remarks, he would have given a prompt response. But turning a blind eye to such a glaring undemocratic attitude, Fakhrul only emboldened leaders like Rashedul,” added Das Gupta.
Such threats by BNP politicians in Sirajganj and previously Rajshahi are once again an indication that threats not only to the prime minister but also to Bangladesh's democracy remain. “Such elements are clearly prepared to carry out another bloodbath in the country similar to the carnage of August 1975 that left family members of the prime minister, including the Father of the Nation, killed,” according to renowned journalist, author and political analyst Syed Badrul Ahsan.
To publicly threaten to assassinate Sheikh Hasina and finish off the Awami League is a crime and must be treated as such, he added.
In reference to the presence of Fakhrul on stage, Badrul said, “One is surprised that BNP's senior leaders present there, when these ugly slogans were made, did not stop the man who was shouting it and did not condemn this behaviour either. The question that now arises is: does the BNP leadership agree with these followers when such criminal acts are committed? And is that leadership at all?”
“Such threats are a reminder of the times when the Zia regime sent Bangabandhu's assassins to Bangladesh missions abroad as diplomats. We did not forget how those assassins were permitted by the Ershad regime to float the Freedom Party,” he added.
“Following the February 15, 1996 election, a Bangabandhu assassin was given a seat as a member of the parliament when BNP was led by Khaleda Zia, who succeeded Gen Zia,” Badrul added.
The organised attack on an Awami League rally in August 2004 to wipe out the party's leadership remains an enduring shame in the nation's history. Sheikh Hasina survived miraculously, but 22 others died, including Ivy Rahman.
Reportedly orchestrated and endorsed at Hawa Bhaban — a safely guarded alternative powerhouse exclusively accessed by Tarique Rahman and his cronies during the BNP led regime — the August 21 plot involved militants from banned outfits. Shockingly, just after the assassination attempt, then prime minister Khaleda Zia, also chairperson of BNP, held AL leaders responsible for the grenade attack.
Alarmingly, to cover up the involvement of Khaleda’s son Tarique and his associates, the regime then staged a drama by presenting a hapless Joj Mia as the “mastermind” behind the attack and sent him behind bars, but with a change in power and owing to subsequent investigations, that drama fell apart, according to a senior journalist Harun Ur Rashid.
“The government must deal firmly with those who have openly been threatening to kill Sheikh Hasina. As for the BNP leadership, it must condemn its rabid followers and publicly apologise for the slogans raised in Rajshahi and Sirajganj,” stressed Badrul.
Firm and decisive action against elements fomenting disorder and threatening to assassinate political leaders is an absolute necessity, demanded Badrul.
Citing a wave of recent threats from the party’s leadership to boycott the election and usurp state power since the US announced visa restriction, Pranab Kumar Pandey, professor of Rajshahi University, said, “Such actions further send a blow to BNP’s commitment to behave like a responsible opposition.”
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
