AL demands fair probe, justice

Awami League (AL) leaders yesterday urged the caretaker government to fairly investigate the terrorist attacks and killings including the murder of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.
The killers of Kibria and masterminds of the August 21 grenade attacks on an AL meeting on Bangabandhu Avenue are yet to be brought to justice, said AL Presidium Member Abdur Razzak at a discussion marking the third death anniversary of Kibria.
"It is now a public question as to why the state has failed to unearth the culprits."
Razzak said the terrorists and their godfathers could not be arrested during the previous BNP-Jamaat regime as "top men of that government were the masterminds of the brutal attacks".
"Now people hope that the caretaker government will fairly investigate the terrorist attacks and killings," he said.
Razzak demanded that investigation report of the grenade attack and Kibria's killing be published.
Kibria was assassinated in a grisly grenade attack in his hometown in Habiganj on January 27, 2005.
AL Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed, Organising Secretary Abdul Mannan, son of Kibria Dr Reza Kibria, addressed the meeting among others with Jamaluddin Mohammad Akbar in the chair at the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue.
Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote organised the discussion.
Razzak urged the caretaker government to declare specific date for parliamentary polls and to refrain from resorting to any action that could make elections uncertain.
"People want the election. The government has said preparations for holding the election are more or less complete. Now the government should declare specific date for the long-awaited election," Razzak told the discussion.
Tofail said AL will attend bilateral dialogue with the government. "We will not give any condition. We hope the government will also not set any condition. Otherwise, the result will not be good."
Tofail said political parties and people are not the opponents of the government. "We want to help the caretaker government make arrangements for the election so they can hand over power to elected representatives of the people."
About the government-political party dialogue, Tofail said AL wants to discuss not only the election with the government but also other political and economic problems prevailing in the country.
He said the government will have to take effective steps to arrest skyrocketing prices of essentials.
Tofail said investigations into the Kibria killing and the August 21 grenade attack should be done by the United Nations. "And for the UN-sponsored investigation, the government will have to make the appeal," he said.
Reza Kibria said after the killing of his father, a strong public opinion grew for punishment of the killers due to their peaceful campaign.
"We wanted permission to continue the peaceful movement but the present caretaker government did not give it to us," he said.
Reza alleged that cohorts of his father's killers are still active within the administration and the government. He said holding elections will be risky without bringing his father's killers to justice.
"The father's murder and the August 21 grenade attack were not ordinary incidents. These are politically motivated crimes. So, if the masterminds of such terrorism go unpunished, then the election will not be free and fair," he said.