Hold a fair general election to ensure democracy, human rights: BNP

BNP leaders on Thursday blamed the Awami League-led government for the continued incidents of disappearance and killing of their leaders and creating congenial atmosphere for the militants to carry out attacks on the bloggers, foreigners and others.
They said that the government had destroyed the country’s hard-earned democracy through holding January 5 general election and under the present government’s autocratic rule human rights of the people were being grossly violated in the country.
Addressing a discussion on Human Rights Day at the conference room of Institution of Engineers Bangladesh, they demanded restoration of democracy in the country by holding a free, fair and credible general election as soon as possible.
BNP’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that disappearance and killings of BNP leaders were a regular phenomenon during the Awami League regime. He said the government even did not allow BNP to hold rallies protesting at the incidents of disappearance and killings after the January 5 general election.
Fakrul said that international forums, including United Nations, were playing double standard role as they raised voices against the violation of human rights but at the same time they did not take any action against the countries where human rights violations were taking place.
He called on the party leaders and activists as well as the young generation to take part at the street movements to restore democracy and ensure human rights in the country. Moudud Ahmed, standing committee member of BNP, said that there was no alternative but to restore democracy in the country to ensure human rights and curb militancy.
He said that the militants got scope to carry out their subversive activities in Bangladesh only because of the absence of democratic environment and participation of people in the government.
Moudud urged the government to hold a fair general election immediately as it was the only means to establish democracy in the country. He said that without people’s participation and help from other political parties it was not possible for a government to check militancy in the country.
Terming BNP as a party always against terrorism and militancy, the senior BNP leader said that their party was always ready to cooperate with the government to curb militancy from the country. ‘We’ll realise that the government is sincere to curb militancy if it seeks cooperation from the BNP,’ he said.
BNP vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman said that incidents of disappearance had not been happened even during the British, Pakistani and Ershad’s autocratic rule but Sheikh Hasina-led government introduced the culture of disappearance and killing of opposition men.
Another vice-chairman Hafiz Uddin Ahmed said that the incidents of extra-judicial killing and abduction of opposition members were being carried out by the law enforcing agencies. He urged the party men to wage tougher movement to topple the government in the interest of establishing democracy and stopping the incidents of human rights violations.
BNP international affairs secretary Asaduzzaman Ripon moderated the discussion attended by the family members of victims of disappearance and extra-judicial killings. A pall of gloom descended on the conference room when the family members of disappearance victims were urging the government with emotional note to return their loved ones.

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