BNP out to foil war crimes trial
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday alleged that the BNP-led opposition is hatching conspiracies to destroy democracy in the country in an apparent bid to foil the war crimes trial.
“They [opposition] don't want the trial of war criminals and that is why they are involved in various conspiracies to destroy democracy,” the Awami League president said while addressing the sixth national council of the party's youth wing Awami Jubo League at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
“Democracy was hampered again and again, and we had to restore it by sacrificing blood. So, you have to remain alert so that no one can play with the fate of people, no one can distort the history of the country's Liberation War, and no one can play any new game,” she said.
Hasina directed Jubo League men to remain vigilant in villages, unions and upazilas, and strengthen the organisation down to grassroots level to safeguard democracy.
“It's not possible to materialise any ideology or implement anything without building a strong organisation. You must strengthen Jubo League because youths are the main force of a nation,” said the AL president.
Later at night, acting Jubo League chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury was made chairman and Harun-ar-Rashid general secretary of the organisation.
Ismail Chowdhury Samrat and Ariful Islam Arif were made president and general secretary of Jubo League city (south), and Mainul Hossain Nikhil and Ismail Hossain president and general secretary of city (north).
During the evening session of the council, a chaotic situation arose as outgoing general secretary Mirza Azam expressed his intent to get the post of chairman. Many of his supporters started shouting inside the conference hall and warned former Jubo League chairman Jahangir Kabir Nanak that they would not accept anyone else as chairman.
At one stage, Nanak and other leaders were forced to go to the Gono Bhaban where the committee was announced following Sheikh Hasina's nod.
Witnesses told The Daily Star that some Jubo League activists blocked Nanak's car on the premises of the conference centre, demanding Mirza Azam be made chairman. Nanak rebuked them and left the spot quickly saying he would take care of Azam.
Earlier, in her address to the council, Hasina said the BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami, which do not believe in the spirit of the Liberation War, resorted to corruption, fundamentalism, militancy and violence in the country after the 2001 general elections and took the country on the verge of ruin.
She warned of tough actions against these forces and said Bangladesh would be made the most peaceful country in the South Asian region.
The prime minister cautioned that if the BNP comes to power again, the country would again plunge into corruption and militancy, and there would be no peace and security of the people. It would only change the life of some BNP leaders, and not of the general people.
Describing the successes of her government, the premier said they have fulfilled most of the pledges they had made before the last parliamentary elections.
“When Awami League comes to power, peace prevails in the hearts of all but one. I don't want to utter the name of that person, I think, people know the name,” she added.
The AL chief asked the leaders and activists of Jubo League to work with a spirit of sacrifice for the people and the country as the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did.
“You [Jubo League men] are not supposed to think what you have got or you have not from the country. You have to think what you have given to the country. You have to love people, you have to work for them and you have to win their trust and confidence.”
AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, Advisory Council Member Amir Hossain Amu, Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak also spoke on the occasion.
Omar Faruk Chowdhury and Mirza Azam, in their speeches, apologised to the people for any mistakes committed unwillingly in their nine and a half years' tenure from January 25, 2003.
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