Khaleda Imprisonment

BNP looks to avoid hard-line stance

Party seeks to leverage ‘government’s repressive policy’ to score politically

BNP will not adopt a hard-line approach in its political course of action as it hopes to accrue more political points by tapping into the disadvantages of the government if it continues to implement a repressive policy against BNP leaders and workers after the conviction of its chairperson Khaleda Zia, said party leaders.

The party has decided, in principle, not to go for a hardline programme, even if the government carries out repression and conducts an arrest drive against party leaders and activists. However, the party will indeed continue its peaceful and democratic course of action, confirmed the leaders.

The leaders think the party would garner more sympathy from the people if the government obstructs the peaceful and democratic course of action and carries out repressive measures on the BNP rank and file.  

The BNP leaders made the observations after ending a two-day nationwide protest programme against the imprisonment of Khaleda in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, which they dubbed “false and fabricated”.

The party has announced a new three-day programme, which includes a human chain for an hour on Monday, a sit-in programme on Tuesday and a seven-hour-long hunger-strike across the country.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is scheduled to hold a meeting with 20-party leaders at the BNP chief’s Gulshan office around 5pm to discuss the current political situation and the allies’ future course of action after Khaleda’s arrest.

Meanwhile, the BNP standing committee yesterday held a meeting with senior leaders at its chairperson’s Gulshan office and discussed the party’s next course of action and strategies to deal with the situation.

“We are engaging in peaceful and democratic programmes but the government is carrying out excesses, which the people are observing,” said BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

Accusing the government of implementing repressive measures against BNP leaders and activists, he alleged that activists of the Chhatra League and Juba League, two associate

organisations of the ruling Awami League (AL), carried out attacks on BNP workers on February 8 while Khaleda was proceeding towards the court.

He said Khaleda’s imprisonment and repression on Opposition activists would enhance the image of the BNP and people’s sympathy would accrue in its favour.

“The more the government carries out repression on us, the more the benefits that we will derive. The Opposition will be more popular the more the repression that is carried out on it,” he added. The former minister alleged that the BNP chief has been sent to jail on the basis of a case that has been filed on fake documents.

Terming the verdict a “political” one, he said they did not get justice from the lower court and hoped they would get justice from the higher court. He also expressed his hope that the BNP chief would get a certified copy of the verdict within a reasonable period of time since it is a part of the process of getting justice.

Another standing committee member, Nazrul Islam Khan, said the BNP wants to involve the people in its agitation by organising a peaceful and democratic movement.

“We don’t want to give an opportunity to the government to shift to us the charges of creating violence and anarchy,” he said.

Nevertheless, the leader also said that though the BNP wants to follow peaceful programmes, the government tries to take it in other directions.

He also claimed that ministers in the Sheikh Hasina government must have known about the verdict, as he pointed out that many of them had been talking about the verdict from earlier on.

By sending Khaleda to jail and carrying out repressive measures against BNP leaders and activists, Khan said there has obviously been a negative impact on the image of the government, which has been damaged, while Khaleda’s image has been enhanced.

Khan also said he did not think it would take much time to provide the certified copy of the verdict because, as he believed, the government would not want to appear to be so inclined. The BNP leader noted that since the court had mentioned that the verdict is a 632-page one, this meant that it was ready, and he hoped that there would be no delay in providing it. He

said the next political course of the party

would be determined on the basis of the prevailing situation.

BNP vice-chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu said: “We want to take up a peaceful programme. We followed the same policy and will follow it in the future as well.” He said the AL would have to decide as to for how long it would push the country towards violence.

“The precondition of democracy is to recognise the rights of others. If the government fails to do so, we will use it to create public opinion,” he said.

He warned that if the government does not allow peaceful rallies and meetings to be held, the country cannot be termed a democratic one, and that would undermine the War of Liberation.

The BNP leader further observed that the country’s democracy has incurred a loss with Khaleda’s imprisonment. On Thursday, a special court pronounced a five-year jail term for former premier Khaleda in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. She is lodged at present in the old prison at Nazimuddin Road in the capital.

 

Khaleda Imprisonment

BNP looks to avoid hard-line stance

Party seeks to leverage governments repressive policy to score politically

BNP will not adopt a hard-line approach in its political course of action as it hopes to accrue more political points by tapping into the disadvantages of the government if it continues to implement a repressive policy against BNP leaders and workers after the conviction of its chairperson Khaleda Zia, said party leaders. The party has decided, in principle, not to go for a hardline programme, even if the government carries out repression and conducts an arrest drive against party leaders and activists. However, the party will indeed continue its peaceful and democratic course of action, confirmed the leaders. The leaders think the party would garner more sympathy from the people if the government obstructs the peaceful and democratic course of action and carries out repressive measures on the BNP rank and file. The BNP leaders made the observations after ending a two-day nationwide protest programme against the imprisonment of Khaleda in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, which they dubbed false and fabricated. The party has announced a new three-day programme, which includes a human chain for an hour on Monday, a sit-in programme on Tuesday and a seven-hour-long hunger-strike across the country. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is scheduled to hold a meeting with 20-party leaders at the BNP chiefs Gulshan office around 5pm to discuss the current political situation and the allies future course of action after Khaledas arrest. Meanwhile, the BNP standing committee yesterday held a meeting with senior leaders at its chairpersons Gulshan office and discussed the partys next course of action and strategies to deal with the situation. We are engaging in peaceful and democratic programmes but the government is carrying out excesses, which the people are observing, said BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. Accusing the government of implementing repressive measures against BNP leaders and activists, he alleged that activists of the Chhatra League and Juba League, two associate organisations of the ruling Awami League (AL), carried out attacks on BNP workers on February 8 while Khaleda was proceeding towards the court. He said Khaledas imprisonment and repression on Opposition activists would enhance the image of the BNP and peoples sympathy would accrue in its favour. The more the government carries out repression on us, the more the benefits that we will derive. The Opposition will be more popular the more the repression that is carried out on it, he added. The former minister alleged that the BNP chief has been sent to jail on the basis of a case that has been filed on fake documents. Terming the verdict a political one, he said they did not get justice from the lower court and hoped they would get justice from the higher court. He also expressed his hope that the BNP chief would get a certified copy of the verdict within a reasonable period of time since it is a part of the process of getting justice. Another standing committee member, Nazrul Islam Khan, said the BNP wants to involve the people in its agitation by organising a peaceful and democratic movement. We dont want to give an opportunity to the government to shift to us the charges of creating violence and anarchy, he said. Nevertheless, the leader also said that though the BNP wants to follow peaceful programmes, the government tries to take it in other directions. He also claimed that ministers in the Sheikh Hasina government must have known about the verdict, as he pointed out that many of them had been talking about the verdict from earlier on. By sending Khaleda to jail and carrying out repressive measures against BNP leaders and activists, Khan said there has obviously been a negative impact on the image of the government, which has been damaged, while Khaledas image has been enhanced. Khan also said he did not think it would take much time to provide the certified copy of the verdict because, as he believed, the government would not want to appear to be so inclined. The BNP leader noted that since the court had mentioned that the verdict is a 632-page one, this meant that it was ready, and he hoped that there would be no delay in providing it. He said the next political course of the party would be determined on the basis of the prevailing situation. BNP vice-chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu said: We want to take up a peaceful programme. We followed the same policy and will follow it in the future as well. He said the AL would have to decide as to for how long it would push the country towards violence. The precondition of democracy is to recognise the rights of others. If the government fails to do so, we will use it to create public opinion, he said. He warned that if the government does not allow peaceful rallies and meetings to be held, the country cannot be termed a democratic one, and that would undermine the War of Liberation. The BNP leader further observed that the countrys democracy has incurred a loss with Khaledas imprisonment. On Thursday, a special court pronounced a five-year jail term for former premier Khaleda in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. She is lodged at present in the old prison at Nazimuddin Road in the capital.