All doors shut for peaceful power transfer: Khaleda
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Tuesday accused the government of closing all democratic and peaceful ways for transfer of power and urged the people to join a movement to dislodge the incumbents for holding elections under a caretaker government and a neutral election commission.
She also announced three road marches from Dhaka towards Sylhet, Rajshahi and Chittagong in October to rally popular support for the BNP-led alliance's demands for resignation of the 'failed' government and restoration of the caretaker government system to ensure fair polls.
The BNP-led alliance will begin the road march on October 10 towards Sylhet. It will march towards Rajshahi on October 18 and towards Chittagong on October 25.
'The country is under a grave threat. I had been with you in all democratic struggles and at this stage of my life, I again vow to spearhead another movement for restoration of the rights of the people and urge you to join it,' she said a 'grand' rally of the BNP-led alliance in front of the party's central office at Naya Paltan.
In her hour-long speech, Khaleda repeated several times that the BNP and its allies would not allow holding of any elections without a caretaker government and a neutral election commission.
The opposition leader ridiculed Hasina for presenting a peace formula at the United Nations and for her claims that she had been working for peace for past 40 years. 'Where was your peace scheme when 40 thousand political activists were killed during your father's regime? Was killing people with oars and sticks part of the peace scheme? Was not it you who demanded 10 dead bodies to avenge one,' she asked.
Khaleda came down heavily on the government for its ruthless treatment of protesters. 'Oppressing people never prolong a regime. And your partner Ershad had proved it. It was you who had to side with the people amid a popular uprising to topple the autocrat. Now you have taken him on board and unleashed terror on the people,' she said.
'They want to stay in power through oppression and intimidation forgetting that striking fear and torture could not ensure one's stay in power.
She said 'false' cases were being filed against opposition leaders and activists but not a single case had been filed against Fakhruddin or Moeen Uddin as this government had assumed office through election engineering with foreign funding.
'The country has become a procession of corpses. Newspapers said 5,576 unidentified bodies were found in past three years in Dhaka only. It was 11,000 elsewhere in the country,' she said.
She questioned why the finance minister was asking the World Bank and IFM for loans if the country's economy was so strong.
She also rejected the incumbent International Crimes Tribunal branding it partisan and called for formation of the tribunal in line with international standards. 'This war crimes trial is nothing but a farce,' she said and demanded release of all arrested war crimes suspects till an acceptable tribunal was formed.
She defended her major ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. 'Jamaat is not allowed to bring out a procession. Is Jamaat a banned political outfit,' she wondered.
The Jamaat-e-Islami acting amir Maqbul Ahmed, Bangladesh Jatiya Party chairman Andaleeve Rahman, Khelafat Majlis amir Muhammad Ishaq, Kalyan Party chairman Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, acting chairman of Bikalpadhara Bangladesh Redwan Ahmed, Liberal Democratic Party presidium member Nurul Amin Bepari and Islami Oikya Jote vice-chairman Abdur Raqib also addressed the rally, among others. (Narration:Abdullah Juberee)
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BNP Live long march Part 1by ibnmasud2,357 views
go ahead khalida zia
rafibdrafi 5 months ago