BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday alleged that their party’s ailing chairperson Khaleda Zia is being deprived of her human rights.
“Our party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, a three-time Prime Minister, is now being deprived of human rights and her minimum right to receive treatment,” he told a seminar.
Fakhrul also bemoaned that BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has been forced to remain in exile by “unfairly’ convicting him in different cases by the current government.
BNP’s National Committee on celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence arranged the programme at a city hotel marking the International Human Rights Day.
A book titled “Disenfranchisement under the Authorial Regime” was launched at the programme.
Many incidents of human rights violations in Bangladesh under the rule of the current government have been depicted in the book.
Some family members of the victims of the enforced disappearances joined the programme and expressed sorrow and agony for not being able to trace of their near and dear ones.
“The family members of the victims of enforced disappearances have shared their pains and ordeals here today (Friday). But we have been hearing their screams and that of their children for eight years. The children are still waiting to see when their fathers will return to them. We’re going through such a terrible and disturbing situation,” Fakhrul said.
He said human rights have been extremely violated in Bangladesh under the rule of the current government for lack of democracy.
“One thing is very clear that human rights and democracy are complimentary to each other. Without democracy, human rights can never be protected and without human rights democracy can never continue,” the BNP leader observed.
Referring to the statistics of different rights bodies, he said around 607 people were subjected to enforced disappearances while over 1,000 BNP leaders and activists were killed during the rule of the current government.
He said around 35 lakh leaders and activists of BNP have been implicated in many cases. “If you visit Dhaka or district courts you will find 90 percent of the total accused arrive there are BNP leaders and activists.”
Accusing the government of politicising the judiciary and administration, Fakhrul said the country’s people have no confidence in the judiciary as they are not getting any justice from there.
He said the government has snatched people’s rights to expression and established its full control over the media. “Those who now work for media have become helpless due to the Digital Security Act.”
The BNP leader called upon people of all works of life to forge strong national unity for the restoration of democracy in the country through a united movement.
Some foreign diplomats and the representatives of various international organisations joined the programme.
Ruling party’s demonstration
As BNP’s seminar began around 4pm at Lakeshore Hotel, a group of pro-ruling party activists under the banner of family members of the victims of BNP’s arson attacks and the victims of enforced disappearances and conspiracies during Zaiur Rahman’s regime gathered in front of the same hotel and staged a demonstration there.
They alleged that many incidents of serious human rights violations had taken place during Zia’s rule.
As long as the seminar continued, the demonstrators continued their protests standing on the footpath in front of the hotel.
Source: United News of Bangladesh