News of SAD coordinators’ arrest painful

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said he was saddened to see the arrest of members from Students Against Discrimination on extortion charges in the capital.

"I turned blue with sorrow when I opened the newspaper. I saw that five coordinators had been arrested by police for allegedly extorting Tk 50 lakh from the residence of a former lawmaker. Is this the outcome we had hoped for? Is this what the people of Bangladesh wanted?" he said.

"If such an incident can happen so soon, even before a year has passed, what does that say about our future? I say this because the entire nation is looking to them…" Fakhrul added.

The BNP leader made the remarks while inaugurating a graffiti campaign by the party's youth wing, Jubo Dal, at Shahbagh.

Expressing regret, Mirza Fakhrul said even after a year, they still could not confidently say they were prepared to rebuild the country anew.

He added that internal conflicts could create an opportunity for fascism to return.

"It's really unfortunate that today we are arguing over many things and fighting among ourselves. This could hurt Bangladesh's progress. It could create an opportunity for the fascists to take control over Bangladesh."

Fakhrul said that even though senior party leaders were tortured at the DB office in July last year, they did not surrender or sign any undertakings.

"They had their toenails pulled out; their teeth broken. Sadly, while the DB office incidents are shown in the media, the pictures of our tortured leaders are never published," he said, urging journalists to report such events.

"We don't see any reports or programmes about how Khaleda Zia, a woman who gave everything for democracy, was kept in prison. I urge the media to speak the truth and acknowledge her sacrifice," he added.

The BNP secretary general raised questions as to why the interim government could not fully start the trial of Sheikh Hasina, even though one year had passed.

He alleged that the government is indirectly blaming political parties for not cooperating in reform efforts, despite that "not being true".

Fakhrul said, "Where is Hasina's trial?... those who carried out killings in broad daylight… BBC reports have exposed audio clips where Hasina is heard instructing to open fire… why have these matters not come up yet?"

"I urge the journalists to highlight these issues. You have done remarkable work. You have stood by the people of Bangladesh in their rightful, democratic struggle," he added.

Fakhrul said that those trying to corner the BNP by creating pressure will not succeed in their efforts.

"The current government is talking about reform every moment. They are indirectly trying to blame political parties, attempting to say that we are not cooperating. We have been constantly cooperating with their reform initiatives. We want to work together with everyone at all times."