Awami League and BNP have become unbending over their stands centering the Dhaka march programme despite all symptoms that the ongoing political impasse is taking a turn for the worse. The hardening stances of the country’s two major political parties have also added to the concerns of all quarters, including civil society representatives. The BNP has vowed to hold its programme despite the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s refusal to give permission for the rally while Awami League has termed the BNP’s rally as undemocratic and the government has already suspended operations of all modes of public transports leaving capital Dhaka almost disconnected from other parts of the country.
BNP has called for the ‘March for Democracy’ programme in the capital on Sunday after a five-spell blockade, demanding election under a non-party neutral administration and postponement of the schedule for the 10th parliamentary polls slated for January 5.
In a video message to media houses on Friday, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia called upon the countrymen to hit on the streets to make the march programme a success.
“I was always beside you (people) for the welfare of the country. I am with people and will remain so in the future. If I fail to take part in the March for Democracy on Sunday, you should continue the programme until the government is toppled,” she said.
“We are struggling for protecting our democracy. People from all walks of life should take part in the programme, defying all sorts of government barriers to force the government to halt the farcical national poll under a party management,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka police on Friday rejected BNP’s request to allow them to hold the March for Democracy programme in front of the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters on Sunday. Police said permission was denied for the sake of security of the city dwellers.
If BNP is deprived of staging the showdown, party sources said the opposition will not allow the government go unchallenged in holding “a lopsided national election” under its own oversight. The party is mulling for announcing another course of action programme and that might be announced through a video massage on Sunday, the sources said.
“The government is provoking us to go for a tough programme in many ways. We have no alternative without going for non-stop agitation programme,” BNP standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman said, adding that they were thinking about a non-violent non-cooperation programme and that might be announced immediately.
Talking to The Independent, organising secretary of the party’s Rajshahi division Harun-ur-Rashid said train and bus services from Rajshahi to Dhaka have been stopped since Friday evening “to create obstacles for the opposition programme.
Mushiur Rahman, organising secretary of the party’s Khulna division, said authorities of the Khulna divisional bus terminal were instructed on Friday to not ply any vehicle on the streets for the next two days so that no one can reach Dhaka. Law enforcers were also engaged in conducting raids across Khulna city, including its main bus terminal, so that no one can board a bus or train to reach Dhaka, Rahman said. Sick people, who had intended to avail medical services in the capital, were the worst sufferers, he added.
Organising secretaries of the party’s Barisal, Sylhet and Chittagong divisions aired similar grievances and said their leaders and activists will reach the capital anyhow to make the programme a success.
Most of the leaders, activists and supporters of the 18-party alliance have already reached the capital by availing different modes of transport including microbuses in the name of bridal parties or other such functions, fearing that they might be intercepted on the way by the members of law enforcers or ruling party men on the eve of the showdown, said Fazlul Haque Milon, also organising secretary of the party’s Dhaka division.
“Khaleda Zia has asked us to hit on the streets to topple the fascist Awami League government. We will show our respect to the call made by our party chief by making the March for Democracy programme on Sunday a grand success,” he said.
Around 500 people, mostly opposition activists, were detained from different parts of the country, which BNP termed a government mission to foil its programme.
The ruling Awami League has come up with a number of strategies to resist the BNP programme for, what the party leaders said, avoiding any kind of destructive activities ahead of the Jan 5 general elections.
The ruling party has informed the administration as well as the law enforcement agencies about its decision to resist the opposition’s programme, senior leaders of the party said.
In a statement on Friday, AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam urged all not to respond to the call of the opposition leader to march towards Dhaka on Sunday.
Instead of responding to the call of the anti-liberation forces, he urged all pro-liberation forces to make an all-out effort to resist them.
Meanwhile, civil society members have expressed deep concern over the government’s decision to resist the main Opposition BNP’s ‘March for Democracy’ programme.
Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, an eminent jurist, said, “To be able to hold rallies is a fundamental right. We’re concerned about the government’s determination to resist the rally by stopping the plying of buses, trains and launches across the country.”
The present political impasse should be resolved through dialogue instead of conflict, he said, in reply to a query.
Akbar Ali Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government, said, “We’re extremely concerned at the government’s attitude towards the Opposition’s programme. It would further increase the conflict.”
Constitution expert Shahdhin Malik said the government has been taking ‘undemocratic’ decisions, and that the democratic space has shrunk. It has triggered violent police action and violence against the innocent, he observed.
“The only solution to this problem is to enhance democratic freedoms, which, unfortunately, is becoming improbable,” he added.
Prof. Khondaker Mustahidur Rahman, former vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, said there was no logical reason behind the government’s attempt to block the March for Democracy, wherein people would carry national flags to Dhaka. The result would not be good for the Awami League or the government, he warned.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said the rigid stands taken by both the ruling Awami League and the main opposition BNP would severely disrupt public life and undermine democracy. “We’re concerned over the tussle for power between the two major parties, which has imperilled democracy,” he said.
He said both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia should resolve the political impasse through talks, adding that there was no alternative to it.
-With The Independent input
