Govt resorting to torture to suppress BNP

BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas has alleged that the government has adopted new ways of torturing the party men.

BNP leaders and activists were previously killed through enforced disappearance but now the government is killing them through torture and by putting them behind bars, he said.

Abbas was addressing a rally in front of the BNP's Nayapaltan central office in the capital yesterday afternoon, ahead of a mass procession.

The party's south and north city units organised two mass processions to press home its one-point demand -- resignation of the government and general elections under a non-party, neutral government.

The procession of the Dhaka south city BNP started from Nayapaltan intersection and ended at Doyaganj intersection.

Alleging that "ill-educated people" are pushing the country towards destruction, Abbas said, "They don't love the country. They love money. They have looted money, amassed wealth, and laundered thousands of crores of taka abroad."

He said people have been "economically impaired" due to the abnormal price hike of essentials. "They are also becoming politically impaired because of the killings and disappearances."

Referring to recent media reports on India's stance on Bangladesh's general elections, Abbas said India should make friendship with the people rather than particular political parties like Awami League and BNP.

Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, another BNP standing committee member, said, "We are not afraid of death anymore. Don't try to point guns at us. Nobody will retreat in the face of your [the government] firing."

Another procession by BNP's north city unit began from the Shyamali intersection and ended at Mohammadpur Bus Stand.

BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who led the procession, said Awami League has now become an "opponent of the people". He said nobody can win by going against the people.

Terming AL a "militant party", Khasru said the government has been staging drama over militancy to come to power again.

"Nobody believes in their drama over militancy anymore. Those days are gone. This game will no longer work. Awami League itself is militant," he added.

Khasru said the BNP's movement will continue and it won't stop in the face of suppression. "This fascist government will be removed through the movement."

About Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tour of South Africa, he said, "She went to South Africa spending public money. She wanted to make the country a member of BRICS, but she couldn't. Instead, she sought votes for Awami League and rebuked BNP."

Braving rain, thousands of BNP leaders and activists joined both the processions, which began around 4:00pm and ended around 5:30pm.

Carrying banners, festoons, placards, and portraits of the party's top leaders, they waved black flags and chanted anti-government slogans.

Roads stretching from Nayapaltan to Dayaganj and Shyamali to Mohammadpur were crowded with BNP activists, causing disruptions to traffic in and around those areas.

A large number of law enforcers were deployed to avoid any untoward incidents.

Meanwhile, the BNP's 36 like-minded parties also brought out mass processions in the capital yesterday as part of their simultaneous movement to press for the one-point demand.

ROHINGYA CRISIS

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of BNP, at a press conference yesterday evening said the government has failed to address the Rohingya crisis.

He called on the government to ensure better life for the Rohingyas and their quick repatriation by taking into account the concerns and recommendations made by different stakeholders, including human rights organisations and international NGOs.

The press conference was held at the BNP's central office on the occasion of  the Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day.