Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Friday said that their party would eradicate the culture of enforced disappearances if returned to power with people鈥檚 mandate in the next national election.
He made the comment while speaking at a discussion meeting, organised by 鈥楳ayer Dak鈥� at the Bangla Academy auditorium to mark International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
鈥業f people give us their mandate, everything necessary will be done to prevent enforced disappearances 鈥� from enacting laws to ensuring their implementation. We are waiting for that Bangladesh where no one will fall victim to enforced disappearance,鈥� said Salahuddin.
The BNP leader alleged that the country had long endured 鈥榓 horrific situation鈥� under an authoritarian regime. 鈥楾hose who turned Bangladesh into a fiefdom through killings still show no remorse. Far from admitting their crimes, they brand others as culprits.鈥�
On the election roadmap, he warned against attempts to divide opposition forces. 鈥楾he people have struggled and shed blood for 16 years to restore their right to vote. Now that a path has been created, let us not scatter thorns along it.鈥�
Recalling his own ordeal after being picked up in 2015, Salahuddin said that he had been confined in a small, suffocating cell for 61 days.
鈥業 am fortunate to be alive today. Otherwise, I too would have been just a photograph like many of my colleagues who never returned,鈥� he said.
He described how he was kept in a filthy five-by-ten-foot room with no ventilation, often blindfolded, and at times told he might be moved to another place without the certainty of survival.
鈥業 prayed to Allah that if I die there, my body be returned to my family. I did not see Allah with my eyes, but I felt His presence,鈥� he added.
Salahuddin mentioned with relief that no new families of victims had joined this year鈥檚 commemoration.
鈥楾hey hope future politicians will ensure that no one ever has to attend such an event again. That is why we continue our struggle,鈥� he said.
