Accusing BNP-Jamaat and Hefajat of making ill attempts to protect the war criminals through their destructive activities like burning people to death, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said the peace and welfare of people are more important to her than the premiership.
“Believe me, when I see people being burned to death in such a tragic way, then I feel so hurt …it seems to me then I don’t need the premiership. I don’t want premiership …I want peace for people and their development. I couldn’t bear the pain people are suffering from,” she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing a function at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre marking the National Khatib and Trained Imams Conference as well as the distribution of awards and certificates among the children who win the cultural competition.
Alleging that the opposition is now on countrywide mayhem through burning people, Hasina said that they flashed their teeth recently while setting fire to a 15-year-old boy, Monir.
“The cadres of Jamaat-BNP are now burning people to death pouring petrol over their bodies …such oppression on people can’t be tolerated,” she said adding that the opposition leader did not accept her request to call off hartal during their telephone conversation.
Turning to the war crimes trial issue, the premier alleged that the BNP-Jamaat-Hefajat have got desperate to thwart the trial of the war criminals, “This trial should go on for the welfare of humanity as these war criminals had committed genocides, arson attacks, violated our mothers and sisters. Their trial must be held on Bangladesh soil,”
Terming Islam the religion of peace and there is no place for terrorism and militancy in it, Hasina called upon the Alem, Ulema, Khatibs and Imams to beware of those who are trying to malign Islam through their attempts to turn it into a religion of militancy and repression.
She also urged the religious leaders to create awareness among the youth and their parents about the destructive impacts of drug addiction.
The Prime Minister said the country’s religious education is being run in two ways—one Alia and another Qawmi.
She said the students who pass from Alia madrasahs are getting the scope of government jobs as Alia education programme is recognised by the government. “But, the Qawmi students are deprived of the government jobs as there is no government recognition to their certificates.”
“That’s why we’ve taken initiatives for bringing the Qawmi Madrasah education under the government certificate arrangements. Some people are giving a wrong explanation of it. Our aim is to make sure that the students who pass from Qawmi madrasas are getting jobs in public and private sectors as well as abroad. But, it won’t be made mandatory and no one will be forced to do so.”
-With UNB/The Independent input
