The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party said on Wednesday that the Awami League government was responsible for every incident of enforced disappearance, and it was proven by them at different times.
鈥楽ome of them even admitted that they had perpetrated such disappearances and extrajudicial killings, the worst crimes against humanity,鈥� BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a press conference at the party鈥檚 Naya Paltan central office, marking 12 years since its leader M Ilias Ali鈥檚 disappearance.
鈥極n behalf of the BNP, I strongly demand the government return M Ilias Ali and all other disappeared leaders and activists to their families. Otherwise, be prepared to stand trial for every murder and disappearance one day,鈥� he said.
Rizvi said that after Ilias Ali鈥檚 disappearance, the assurance of finding him was a public show by the authorities.
At that time, the BNP was observing a five-day hartal and false assurances were given to stop the BNP鈥檚 strike and movement, he said.
The BNP leader said that the Awami League government was using disappearance as a strategy to create fear, panic, and insecurity among the people in society.
鈥楾heir main goal is to eliminate dissenting voices and continue the long-standing fascist regime,鈥� he said, adding that abduction, disappearance, murder, crossfire, and extrajudicial killings in the name of gunfights have increased at a geometric rate during the entire tenure of this government.
He said that during the tenure of this government, Bangladesh became known in the international arena as a country of human rights violations, disappearances, and murders.
鈥極ver the past decade and a half, a large part of the country鈥檚 wealth has been smuggled to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, and Europe. To remove these crimes from the public eye, the government has adopted a ruthless and inhumane approach,鈥� he said.
Rizvi said that more than 650 activists had gone missing so far.
Rizvi said that the culture of fear had been introduced by the government in Bangladesh so that people remained afraid to speak.
鈥楨very democracy-loving citizen of the country is afraid of disappearance, murder, and kidnapping,鈥� he said.
抖阴精品 Staff Correspondent in Sylhet reported that leaders of Sylhet district and city units of BNP on Wednesday threatened that they would be forced to declare again a tough programme like hartal if the party鈥檚 disappeared central organising secretary, M Ilias Ali, was not handed back to his family immediately.
They issued the threat, addressing a brief rally held in front of the Sylhet deputy commissioner鈥檚 office at noon before the submission of a memorandum to the home minister through the deputy commissioner鈥檚 office demanding the immediate return of Ilias Ali, also a former lawmaker and president of the district BNP, to his family.
Stating Ilias uncompromising in the question of protecting the country鈥檚 independence and sovereignty, they alleged in the programme that he had disappeared since he had criticised all wrongdoings of the government and become a threat to the tyrannical government.
Later, the BNP leaders attended a prayer for Ilias Ali in the shrine mosque of Hazrat Shahjalal in the city after asr prayers.
