BNP’s grand rally at Naya Paltan on Friday, aimed at bringing home its one-point demand for the government to step down, was peaceful. Within 16 hours of this grand rally, BNP’s sit-in programmes at the capital city’s entry points on Saturday, saw obstruction and attacks by the police and ruling party men. Police and BNP men clashed at certain points. In an interview with Prothom Alo’s staff correspondent Mohammad Mostafa, BNP’s standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury talks about the various incidents that occurred throughout the day and the ongoing movement.
Q :
BNP’s programme on Saturday faced all sorts of attacks and obstructions. What are you thinking in this situation?
Meetings and rallies are our democratic and constitutional right. We are continuing with the peaceful movement we have been carrying out so long. We wanted to stage peaceful sit-in programmes at Dhaka’s entry points, but they (the government) used the police to attack us.
The ruling quarters assaulted us. It is absolutely clear who set fire to the buses. It was done in front of the police. They took photographs and videos and left in front of the police. Not a single person was nabbed. It is not hard to decipher the identity of those who set fire in front of the police and take videos. They did such things in the past too.
They (ruling Awami League) have become politically dependent on the police force and they will not be able to emerge from this. As they do not have public support, they have to rely on a section of the police, a section of RAB, a section of the administration. There is even a section of the news media that caters to the government’s narrative. They (the government) have become dependent on these quarters. They (the government) carry out arson terrorism, armed terrorism, and lay the blame on others. BNP does not need to resort to such things. Thousands and thousands of people have taken to the streets at BNP’s call. Those who need all this (arson and arms), are the ones resorting to such activities.
Q :
There were hundreds of thousands of people at Friday’s grand rally, why so few at Saturday’s sit-in?
We held a massive programme which ended on Friday night and then there was the programme the very next day. The leaders and workers had been busy for three days with various programmes. Perhaps that is why there was a smaller gathering. They only got one night after such a big programme and we had announced the programme at the last minute. But as we rely on the public, there was considerable gathering in that respect, they protested, demonstrated. This was not a rally or a public meeting. This was a peaceful sit-in. We do not want clashes.
Q :
The five-hour sit-in was from 11:00am till 4:00pm. But why did it end by the afternoon?
The ruling party and the police attacked in the style of terrorists. They opened fire, used tear gas shells, and batons and sticks. A standing committee member was thrown to the ground and beaten. A peaceful sit-in is not prepared for this. We did not feel the need to be prepared for this as this was a peaceful programme. Their programmes are with firearms, they use their partisan police to attack, beat, assault and arrest
Q :
How will BNP proceed with its movement in face of such hindrance and attacks?
We will tackle the situation peacefully. If such attacks, repression, oppression, abductions, killings in front of the people were effective, then thousands and thousands of people wouldn’t take to the streets. If they could be successful in such a manner, then such massive crowds would not join our peaceful programmes. Our politics is not like theirs (government and the ruling party), where they use arms and the police. Our politics is peaceful. We have public support. We have strength of mind. This mental strength, with the support of the people, has emerged victorious time and again. This time too, victory is assured.