Civil society members don’t consider opposition leaders as human beings: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday regretted that the civil society members keep mum when their party men are killed and tortured on the streets as they do not consider the opposition leaders and activists as human beings.

 “I would like to say one thing with sorrow we are being subjected to huge injustice and repression and our 17 people lost their lives in police firing on the streets for democracy. But those of our people talk nicely about democracy, good society, development and middle-income country, they don’t consider our leaders and activists as human beings,” he said.

Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader alleged that police also pick up opposition leaders and activists without any warrant and show them arrested in different cases relating to sabotage and explosion as there is no rule of law in the country, reports UNB.

Besides, he said police file a case against 100 known BNP leaders and activists and over 1,000 others unidentified ones after any incident.

Fakhrul said their party’s around 3.5 million people are facing ‘false’ cases. "Can it be imagined? Can 3.5 million leaders and activists of a democratic party be implicated in cases in any civilised democratic country? Can it be called a democratic state? Our only offence is that we’re working for restoring people’s rights. Only the sufferers know how much ordeal they’re going through?”

He said the civil society members remain silent about such repression as they think the victims belong to BNP and they are not human beings and citizens of the country.

Zia Parishad, a pro-BNP platform, arranged the discussion programme at a city hotel.

Fakhrul said Bangladesh has been going through the toughest time of its 52 years’ history as the Awami League usurped power deceiving the country’s people. “They’re deceiving people so much in every case, everywhere that can never be imagined.

He said the government’s biggest offence is that it has destroyed all the state institutions.

Referring to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s comment on identifying those who are putting the state institutions into question, Fakhrul said, “Who will the people identify first? People have already identified that they (AL) are continuously not only making the institutions questionable but also destroying those. There is no institution, including parliament, which Awami League has not destroyed.”

He said the government has created such a situation in the country that BNP leaders and activists cannot stay in their houses for months after months to avoid getting arrested.”

He said their party has long been on a movement for the restoration of the caretaker government and sacrificing their lives for ensuring a credible election.

He said democracy was destroyed repeatedly by Awami League while it has been restored by Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia. “This is the fact and there is no scope to deny it.”