Mirza Fakhrul clarifies remarks on withdrawal of cases against Awami League
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that the party does not believe in the politics of revenge. Referring to politically motivated cases filed during the Awami League’s rule, he stated, “We do not want to file cases the way the Awami League did. If there are such cases, I promise you that all of them will be dropped.”
He made the remarks on Tuesday afternoon while addressing a meeting to exchange views, organised by the BNP at the Shapla Government Primary School ground in Mohammadpur Union under Thakurgaon Sadar upazila.
However, after his speech drew media attention, the BNP secretary general issued a clarification statement in the evening.
The statement, signed by the party’s assistant office secretary Md. Taiful Islam, said some media outlets had “misinterpreted” his comments.
In the statement, Mirza Fakhrul said, “This afternoon at a meeting to exchange views in Thakurgaon’s Mohammadpur, a portion of my remarks was presented in a misleading manner by some media outlets, which is deeply unfortunate.
I said that we do not want to engage in the politics of revenge or file harassment cases like the Awami League. I also said that if any such cases exist in this union, we will withdraw them. But I did not make any comment about withdrawing cases nationwide. I urge the public and party leaders not to be misled by these distorted reports.”
Earlier at the meeting, Fakhrul said, “For 15 years, the fascist government barely allowed us to hold rallies or processions. They even stopped us from meeting you. Instead, they filed so many cases that BNP activists became too fearful to work properly. We have now overcome that situation.”
Referring to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s 5 August, 2024 statement urging an end to the politics of vengeance, Fakhrul added, “I want to reiterate that we do not believe in revenge. We do not want to file cases as the Awami League did. If such cases exist, I give you my word—they will all be withdrawn. Every case against the Awami League will be dropped. We want to move forward with love, harmony, and unity.”
He continued, “We want to practice the politics of peace and see peace prevail in Bangladesh. We do not want unrest anymore. That is why we have demanded elections. This government is meant to be for everyone, it is an interim government. Its job is to hold elections and hand over power to the people. For over a year now, it has been working to bring about change.”
Criticising Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies, Fakhrul said, “Unfortunately, one political party—let me name it, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami—is trying to coerce the government by force along with a few others. Their main demand is ‘PR,’ or proportional representation. They want to introduce a system unfamiliar to us, where people vote for parties instead of individuals. The party then decides who becomes an MP. You’ll vote here, but the MP will be chosen in Dhaka—is that acceptable? That’s why we said we reject this system. They are also demanding that the referendum be held before the national election, but we believe both votes—the yes/no referendum and parliamentary election—should be held on the same day.”
Addressing members of the Hindu community, Fakhrul said, “To my Hindu brothers and sisters, I want to say—do not live in fear anymore. We were with you before, and we will remain with you. You’ve seen during Durga Puja how our leaders and activists stood by your side. Likewise, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians—we will all live together in unity. We will not allow any divisions in this country.”
The meeting was attended by former district BNP vice president Al Mamun Alam, district BNP president Mirza Faisal Amin, general secretary Md. Poigam Ali, and several other BNP and affiliated organisation leaders and activists.