Desk Report:
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir believes that the ongoing street protests by seven parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, are creating unnecessary pressure. He said, “I think there was no need for it. The meaning of such a program is to create unnecessary pressure during discussions; which is not good for democracy.”
Mirza Fakhrul told reporters at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on Thursday evening after returning home from Singapore. He went to Singapore with his wife Rahat Ara Begum for medical treatment on September 10.
Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis, Nejame Islam Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (JAGPA) held a protest march in the capital on Thursday demanding several points, including holding national elections in February based on the July Charter.
Regarding Jamaat-e-Islami’s demand that a program be held on the streets because the discussions surrounding the elections with the National Consensus Commission failed to resolve the issue, the BNP Secretary General said, “Will the issue really be resolved on the streets this way? My counter-question is, will the issue really be resolved on the streets?”
“We are the largest party (BNP). After the change, we have not come to the streets on any issue. We want to resolve everything through discussions. I believe that this will end through discussions.”
Regarding the demand of seven parties including Jamaat-e-Islami to hold national elections under the proportional representation (PR) system and the legal basis of the July Charter, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Our position on this matter is clear. We are not in favor of PR. We think that there is no need for PR in Bangladesh. Whatever is done here, including the July Charter, the support of the people is the biggest need.’
Regarding the demand to ban the activities of the National Party and the 14-party party, Fakhrul said, ‘BNP’s statement is clear, BNP is not in favor of banning any political party.’
The interim government’s chief advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus is going to New York next Sunday to attend the UN General Assembly session. His entourage will be accompanied by Mirza Fakhrul, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Nayeb-e-Amir Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, National Citizens Party (NCP) member secretary Akhtar Hossain and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s foreign affairs advisor Humayun Kabir.
When attention was drawn to the visit, Mirza Fakhrul said, ‘The Foreign Ministry and Dr. Yunus have not yet spoken about the UN visit. I don’t know what role he will play there. There has been no talk yet. However, there will be talks about the country, the transition to democracy, and development issues will take precedence.
When asked whether this visit is to take important decisions about the country, the BNP Secretary General said, “We have to take the decisions of our country ourselves and we have to take them through a coordinated and united effort. We have always taken the decisions of Bangladesh in the past, and we will take them ourselves now. I think there is no need for any external decisions.”
When asked when BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman would return to the country, he said, “He will return very soon.”
