FAILURE IN DEMONSTRATION : Field-level leaders, activists blame senior leaders [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

FAILURE IN DEMONSTRATION : Field-level leaders, activists blame senior leaders

Local September 08, 2015

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party blamed ‘fascist attitude of the government for its failure to stage scheduled demonstrations in Dhaka on Sunday, although no senior leaders was seen in the field to join or lead the countrywide demonstrations.
Field-level leaders, organisers and activists, however, blamed senior leaders and organisational weakness for the failure.
The BNP-led alliance on September 2 announced the programme for holding rallies and bringing out processions across the country protesting against the latest power and gas price hike with effect from September 1.
This was the alliance’s first agitation after its non-stop countrywide road-rail-waterway blockade from January to April.
Some BNP leaders said that lack of coordination and proper planning, organisational weakness and fear of arrest, among others, were the reasons for the bad performance in Sunday’s demonstration.
BNP vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman, however, on Monday told New Age that the ‘fascist’ and ‘undemocratic’ behaviour of the government and police attack prevented the leaders and activists from taking to the street.
He admitted that they could not observe the programme properly.
Noman was asked why BNP failed to hold demonstrations noticeably particularly in Dhaka city and why senior leaders did not turn up.
He said slogans and processions had now become ‘non-functional’ to face the government’s attacking action.
He said that BNP was not a party to take up arms or to resort to terrorism to face the government’s ‘fascist’ and ‘undemocratic’ activities.
Noman said that it had become difficult to carry out democratic programmes under the prevailing situation.
He said that the police unleashed attack and arrest when leaders and activist took to the streets.
Jatiyatabadi Jubadal president Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, also member of Dhaka city BNP convening committee, said that they had inspired the leaders and activists to stage demonstrations.
Asked why senior leaders, including him, were not seen in the streets, Alal said due to ‘strategic’ reason they did not take to the streets.
BNP standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman said that party leaders and activists could not stage demonstration properly because of the government’s ‘hard-line stance’ and police attack and arrest.
He said that many leaders and activists were either languishing in jails or facing cases.
Mahbub said that currently BNP was in reorganisation process and it would come up with new vigour overcoming the organisational weakness.
BNP joint secretary general Mohammad Shahjahan said that it was not like that the leaders intentionally did not take to the streets, but they did their duties in the ways they could.
He said that the government did not allow them to assemble at any specific venue to organise the peaceful programme on the public issue.
Dhaka city BNP convenor Mirza Abbas and member secretary Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel could not be reached for their comments.