Dhaka: Restoration of the caretaker government will bring back peace in the country, but if the ruling grand alliance did not restore it then it would be held responsible for any disorder caused by their action.

Leaders of the 18-party alliance told this while addressing a rally in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office demanding release of its detained leaders, safe return of ‘disappeared’ BNP leader M Ilyas Ali and restoration of the caretaker government on Thursday afternoon.

BNP vice-chairman and Dhaka City convener Sadek Hossain Khoka presided over the rally. BNP Standing Committee member and former minister Dr Khondaker Mosharraf Hossian said while addressing the rally, “The repressive government has adopted a new tactic in its numerous double standards saying it is ready for dialogue with the opposition while keeping up its repression, harassment by filing of false cases and wholesale arrest of opposition leaders and activists. People by this time understand this evil design and lost their faith in the repressive regime engaged in numerous forms of double standards. So if the government really wants any dialogue then it has to set free all the detained leaders and activists first for creating ground for that dialogue and return abducted leaders like M Ilyas Ali.”

He also said, “By this time people also know how and what you are doing by misusing police and other law enforcing agencies. Now the grand alliance is plotting to keep Sheikh Hasina in power and hold the next general election for perpetuating its power, but people in no way would let it happen. So it would be better if you restore the caretaker government immediately through the 16th amendment to the constitution and bring back peace in the country.”

“Some 156 opposition leaders and activists, including Chowdhury Alam and M Ilyas Ali, were made victims of forced disappearance by law enforcers and we’ve gathered here to raise a protest against that. This head-to-tow corrupt, repressive and totally failed regime had already lost its right to rule and people do not wnt them to stay in power a moment,” Mosharraf said.

He also said, “We know Awami League very well. The party had killed thousands of people through Rakkhi  Bahini in 1972-75. They cannot tolerate dissent and shut down most newspapers keeping just 4 of its mouthpiece during their BAKSAL era and also in the last four years they had enforced a dictatorial rule and made the country a police state and the whole country a big prison for raising voice against AL repression and corruption by detaining hundreds of opposition activists.”

He also said, “Many unprecedented things had happened during the last four years of grand alliance government including BDR carnage, massive looting of thousands of crores from the share market by AL high-ups, banks were virtually looted by Hall-Mark, Bismillah, Destiny  Groups in connivance with ruling party top brass. Hundreds of Muslim Devotees were shot dead like birds by law enforcers and ruling party cadres, which is really barborous and unprecedented by any government after the Liberation War.Thousands of opposition activists were arrested by filing false cases.”  

“So the people are really worried about future of the country and doubtful about holding of any election. The government had driven the country towards uncertainty by scrapping deliberately the caretaker government system. Now around 70 percent people want caretaker government, but government is plotting to burry that demand and adopting newer tactics to foil people’s movement,” Mosharraf added.

“The government has also divided the country into two in the name of pro- and anti-liberation, pro-Islam and anti-Islam, pro and anti democracy and so on to serve its purpose of perpetuating its power using the troubled waters,” Mosharraf said.

“But the mass people imbibed with the spirit of Jatiyatabadi and Islamic values have got united and rose up against the repressive regime,” he added.

The BNP-led opposition alliance organised the rally to press home its various demands, including release of the top opposition leaders and resignation of the government.

BNP leaders MK Anwar, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Rafiqul Islam Miah and others leaders of the alliance components also addressed the rally.

Addressing the rally, Sadeque Hossain Khoka called upon people to resist the ruling party cadres like the villagers of Fatikchhari upazila. “Every village, upazila must be valiant like Fatikchhari and resist the repression of ruling party cadres,” he said.

Three people were killed brutally by lynch-mob attack and about 120 others, including policemen, injured in the clash involving the activists of Awami League and Jamaat-Shibir-Hefazat and villagers at Kazirhat in Fatikchhari upazila on April 11. Over 100 motorcycles, four mini-trucks, three private cars, a vehicle of Fire Service and a microbus were also torched during the clash.

Peaceful rally  

Despite mounting tensions and heating up of political environment over detention of opposition leaders and activists, the 18-party alliance rally passed off peacefully and no untoward incident occurred on Thursday centring the rally. Moreover, Detective Branch of police and law enforcers kept tight security vigil.  

There was rumour that the rally would be foiled by exploding cocktails, but finally the rally passed off peacefully on Thursday afternoon. Leaders of all alliance components attended the rally but many of them could not address it and BNP leader Khoka begged pardon for that.

Ends/MH/AMA/18/04/13