BNP’s Salahuddin says Awami League’s rule of persecution behind its downfall

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed has said that the Awami League caused its own demise through a regime filled with persecution.

Calling the Awami League a “fascist” force on Sunday, he said their acts of oppression, persecution, torture and massacre have brought about the death in politics.

He said, “We welcome the move to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act to ban their [Awami League’s] political activities until the judicial process is complete. But one must understand, does the world still recognise the Awami League as a political party? Do the people of this country recognise them?”

He made the remarks while attending a dialogue titled “Seven Proposals of the Citizens' Alliance for Constitutional Reform”, organised by the Citizens’ Coalition at the International Mother Language Institute.

Amid demands from several parties including the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) and Islamist parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami, the Advisory Council of the interim government held an emergency meeting on Saturday, where it decided to amend the International Crimes Tribunal Act to tailor it as needed to penalise political parties.

Meanwhile, the interim government decided to ban all activities of the Awami League and its leaders until trials at the International Crimes Tribunal are concluded.

Noting what the Awami League exercises is “not politics”, Salahuddin dubbed it a “mafia party”, saying the BNP does not recognise it as a political party.

Earlier while speaking at the dialogue, Salahuddin said the law to ban the former ruling party’s activities may need some amendments, as the existing wording refers only to banning parties. He suggested implementing the law after those amendments were made and promulgated.

“This is our way of showing respect towards the desires of this nation. The blood of those killed in the July Uprising, the expectations of the people of this country -– they all demand an end to dictatorship or autocracy in Bangladesh,” he said.

Responding to questions about why the BNP did not participate in the Shahbagh protests organised by different political parties demanding the ban of the Awami League, Salahuddin said the BNP had no reasons to join in, as they had already submitted their demands for a trial in writing to the chief advisor, along with repeated conversations in seminars and symposiums.

He added, “If the chief advisor had taken the matter into consideration at that time, perhaps the government would not be facing this embarrassing situation today, yesterday, or the day before.”

He said that the BNP has been demanding Awami League’s trial for a long time, and welcomes the interim government’s initiatives to ensure it through a constitutional process.

He added that the strategic delays in the transition of power might embarrass the interim government in the future.