No question about neutrality

General people yesterday reacted sharply to BNP's claim that the ongoing Shahbagh demonstration was losing neutrality when the party also hailed the demonstrators.
Dozens of people interviewed by The Daily Star yesterday said the main opposition was trying to make itself look relevant by hailing the youth, while at the same time it was looking for excuses for not joining the demonstration.
"They are trying to attract public attention by pretending to hail the uprising while actually doubting its intentions. They might as well have said they don't support the movement at all," said Abu Sayeed, an employee of a private organisation.
In a similar note, schoolteacher Ahmed Rubel said he would have taken BNP's statement seriously had it joined the movement and then made the observations.
"It's easy to make such intellectual critique from outside," he added.
The BNP issued a press statement on Monday "hailing" the youth movement but criticising the spontaneous gathering of people for creating "serious confusion about [its] neutrality".
The party's allegation that the slogan 'Joy Bangla' had created confusion also was not received well by the people.
"People are shouting 'Joy Bangla', not 'Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu'; it is clear that the slogan is not associated with any particular party. By suggesting that it is, BNP itself is trying to create confusion and misunderstanding," said Muddassar Ahmed, a banker.
However, some people agreed with the party's demand that the movement should be addressing some other critical issues like extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, human rights violations and the government's alleged corruption and other misdeeds.
But they did not think BNP was in a position to voice these allegations.
"I think the crowd should be addressing other issues like Bishwajit and Sagar-Runi murder, Padma Bridge and corruption once the ongoing protest comes out successful. But BNP's intention behind saying these now is purely political," said Naziba Basher Meygha, a dance artiste.
Some people said the movement was launched to demand proper punishment to the war criminals and that should be its main focus.
"BNP's expectation of other demands to be raised here is unreasonable. As for the 'Joy Bangla' slogan, that was the slogan of our Liberation War and that's exactly why the youth at Shahbagh are using it," said Rokhsana Rahman Nipa, student of department of fine arts at Dhaka University.
"We know what to demand and when. The youth have awakened, but unfortunately our political parties haven't," Raisa Islam, a high school student, said.
"The BNP still seems confused regarding their stance on the war crimes trial. They are commending the youth's movement, while on the other hand, they allege that it is losing neutrality. They really need to be clear about who they want to support," commented Ali Mohammad, a fruit vendor at Mohammadpur.
"They are making a mockery of this movement by saying that they support it. This press statement clearly shows that they are trying to promote their agenda of what they will do when they next come to power, instead of focussing on the good work done by the protesters at Shahbagh," observed businessman Salim Khan.