BNP focuses on releasing all incarcerated leaders and activists

BNP leaders said release of the party’s leaders and activists from prisons throughout the country is the party’s primary focus now. The party is also thinking about according reception to the leaders-activists who have so far been freed from jail. BNP might organise the reception programmes alongside Iftar parties in the month of Ramadan.

BNP high-ups think such programmes would help reinvigorate and reorganize the grassroots leaders-activists of the party who are frustrated due to its failure in the movement.

According to BNP’s central office, around 24,000 to 25,000 leaders-activists and supporters of the party including secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were arrested between the last week of October and the 12th parliamentary election on 7 January. However, the ministers of the government confront the number saying the number of BNP men arrested won’t exceed 12,000. But the arrest spree of BNP men that started in the wake of the party’s grand rally on 28 October continued till the election.

The incarcerated leaders and activists started to get released after around a month of the election. Party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul, standing committee members Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Mirza Abbas and many other leaders have so far walked out of jail. BNP office sources said around 4000 leaders-activists are still languishing in jail and the party’s main focus now is to free them.

BNP leaders hope that the remaining leaders-activists of the party would be released before the month of Ramadan. The party will assess the ‘successes-failures’ of the movement, take time and then launch fresh programmes again. The party leaders including Mirza Fakhrul, Amir Khasru and Mirza Abbas took part in a virtual meeting of the standing committee on Monday night.

Amir Khasru told Prothom Alo that the standing committee meeting held on Monday was basically a reunion. So, no organizational decision was taken during the meeting.

Sources said the leaders who were incarcerated shared their experience inside the jail during the meeting. At one stage, a proposal of according reception to the leaders-activists who were in jail was tabled. Also, there was a proposal to issue letters thanking the leaders who took charge of party posts in absence of the incarcerated leaders. The process to convey gratitude to those leaders may start soon.

Several senior BNP leaders said the party is considering to accord reception to the leaders released from jail in 10 divisions. The senior leaders will participate in the reception meetings.

Sources said BNP leaders are now looking for ways to keep the grassroots leaders and activists buoyant. Reception to the released leaders and activists can be one such way. The BNP leaders also want to prepare a list of the number of leaders-activist who were jailed in different divisions. The jailed leaders-activists who do not hold any post in the party would be considered for leadership positions in the future.

The BNP leaders, however, don’t want to make any comment on these issues right now. A leader on condition of anonymity told Prothom Alo that many BNP activists incarcerated in the last movement do not have any post in the party. It will be beneficial for the party if these supporters-activists can be honored.

Meanwhile, release of imprisoned leaders and activists has been boosting the morale of BNP slowly. Especially the release of important leaders including the secretary general has made leaders-activists hopeful about taking to streets again demanding ‘restoration of democracy and voting rights’. But many of the released leaders are ill and some of them are likely to go abroad for treatment. In such circumstances, waging a big movement soon is unlikely.