Govt remains silent despite firing on St Martin from Myanmar: Fakhrul

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said, "There has been firing on St Martin's Island from Myanmar, yet the government is silent. A Myanmar warship was also sighted at St Martin's. This is a serious threat to Bangladesh's sovereignty. We feel this government is a weak government, it does not have the mandate of the people, it is a subservient government. This government is dependent on foreign power and so does not have the courage to speak up."

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was speaking to journalists at around 1:30pm Sunday afternoon at his home in Kalibari, Thakurgaon. In reply to a question, Mirza Fakhrul said, "It is the government's decision whether they will deploy the army at St Martin's or not. But where they haven't even issued a single statement, how can they be expected to deploy the army?"

Referring to the corruption of the former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, the BNP secretary general said, "The officers and employees who support Awami League, think they will be able to do as they please, but ultimately it is not possible to survive committing such misdeeds. Aziz and Benazir is proof of this. It is the government that is using them as scapegoats."

Mirza Fakhrul Ahmed went on to say, "Today I saw in the newspapers that the there is a long list of corrupt deeds carried out by former Dhaka DMP commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah. Everything is being revealed one after the other. The cat is out  of the bag. We have long being pointing out how this government is using the state machinery, using the government officials and allowing them to steal. Now they are out of the government's control. The government should resign immediately because they have failed to run the state. They have created misrule and have failed in running the state."

Speaking about recent reshuffling in BNP, Mirza Fakhrul said, "The movement has temporary slowed down due to the oppression and repression by the government. The movement is on and will  gain momentum. Reshuffling in the leadership of a political party will strengthen the party further. Many posts fell vacant upon the death of some leaders. These vacant posts have been filled. Those who have been added are young leaders. We are very optimistic that these changes will strengthen our party further."

The BNP secretary general said that there is no joy among the people this qurbani Eid. Inflation has escalated so high that the common people cannot afford even the basic essentials. This is evident in the qurbani cattle markets. People can't afford to buy sacrificial animals because their financial situation is so bad. This government has looted this country's wealth and siphoned it overseas. They have destroyed the banks and the economy is in dire straits. The leading economists of this country are saying that the country's economy is in an extremely bad and fragile state.

Present at the time were Thakurgaon district BNP acting president Abdul Halim, general secretary Mirza Faisal Amin, pourashava BNP president Shariful Islam and other leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organisations.