Staff Reporter :
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, has issued a stern warning to the government, asserting that the people will hold it accountable for the killings carried out using helicopters bought with state funds.
In a statement released on Friday, Alamgir voiced his alarm over the arrest, oppression, and torture of ordinary citizens in the aftermath of the nationwide violence that erupted around the student-led movement demanding quota reforms.
“The government has set a brutal precedent in history by jointly attacking students with ruling party terrorists and law enforcement agencies during the anti-discrimination student movement in government jobs.
This brutality surpasses the cruelty of all autocracies both domestically and internationally,” Alamgir declared.
He accused the “illegal government” of indiscriminately arresting leaders and activists of BNP and other opposition parties, as well as ordinary people, to cover up its terrorist activities and failures.
Among those arrested are BNP Joint Secretary General Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, Barisal Metropolitan BNP Member Secretary Advocate Ziauddin Sikdar, and Natore District BNP Member Secretary Rahim Newaz.
Former Joint Convener of Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP Mosharraf Hossain Khokon was presented in court after three days of detention.
“Opposition party leaders and activists’ homes across the country are being raided continuously.
Law enforcement agencies are raiding the homes of many senior leaders, including BNP Vice Chairman Abdul Awal Mintu,” Alamgir stated.
Alamgir further alleged that the arrested individuals are being tortured and presented in court after being disappeared for several days, which he described as a severe violation of law and human rights.
This terrifying practice, he argued, is being used to instill fear among the populace. He urged the government to refrain from such horrific activities.
“The joint actions of ruling party terrorists and law enforcement personnel using bullets, tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound grenades bought with public money have resulted in the mass killing of hundreds of innocent students and the injury of thousands, which the nation and the world have witnessed,” he said.
Condemning the use of the military to suppress a justified movement, Alamgir demanded the immediate withdrawal of the curfew and the return of the military to the barracks.
“The Awami League has always come to power over dead bodies, and the mass killings of innocent students and people in recent days by shooting them like birds remind us of the Pakistani invaders,” he asserted.
Alamgir concluded by declaring that a government that can brutally kill innocent people to stay in power and cannot ensure the safety of state assets and infrastructure has no moral right to remain in power.
He called for the immediate resignation of the current government and the transfer of power to a non-partisan interim government to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property and to arrange for a neutral election.