By way of Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Plans for turning a proposed central rally in Dhaka on December 10 have failed to supply anticipated dividends to the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Birthday party (BNP) and their Islamist allies. The BNP leaders had mentioned they might use the rally to announce a “executive from the streets” to oust the Awami League executive with a document turnout.
However the turnout on the rally was once deficient — as drone photos by way of tv channels uncovered empty areas with the venue of the rally pouring chilly water into the BNP best brass’s tall boast of drawing 1,000,000 humans to the rally.
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“When put next with PM Sheikh Hasina’s fresh rallies within the port town of Chittagong or the seashore hotel the city of Cox’s Bazar, this BNP rally in Dhaka was once an overly deficient one,” mentioned a best police authentic.
Whilst the BNP had mentioned it might release a national agitation from the Dhaka rally, they ended up simply pronouncing the resignation in their lawmakers in Parliament.
All seven of the BNP’s representatives in parliament are quitting their roles as lawmakers. The MPs, Md Zahidur Rahman, Md Mosharof Hosen, Gulam Mohammad Siraj, Md Aminul Islam, Md Harunur Rashid, Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan and Rumeen Farhana, have despatched their resignation letters on performing celebration leader Tarique Rahman’s orders.
Similar to its earlier claims, the celebration’s best brass introduced plans to head forward with their motion to unseat their rival Sheikh Hasina executive in Bangladesh.
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BNP has introduced 10-point calls for, together with the resignation of the ruling executive and the dissolution of the present nationwide parliament.
BNP Status Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain introduced the issues from the BNP’s Dhaka divisional mass assembly at Golapbag Flooring in Dhaka.
Hossain mentioned all of the issues has been made up our minds after discussing with BNP’s best friend events and all affiliated organisation of the celebration.
BNP’s 10-POINT DEMANDS
1. Resignation of the ruling executive by way of dissolving the present nationwide parliament.
2. Formation of a impartial caretaker executive/intervening time caretaker executive in step with sections Kha, Ga and Gha of article 58 of the charter that was once in position in 1996.
3. The caretaker executive should shape a impartial Election Fee that may be sure that a level-playing box for all events, the usage of EVMs and celebration symbols in native executive elections might be annulled.
4. Convictions of all of the opposition leaders and activists, together with Khaleda Zia, newshounds and spiritual students must be scrapped and all “false circumstances” filed towards them will have to be withdrawn, freedom of speech will have to be ensured, autocratically arresting opposition celebration chief and activists will have to be abolished.
5. All of the black rules, together with the Virtual Safety Act, 2018, Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 and the Particular Powers Act, 1974 should be revoked.
6. The anti-people selections to extend the cost of public services and products, together with electrical energy, power, fuel and water want to be cancelled.
7. Bringing the cost of very important commodities throughout the affordability of common humans and de-syndicate the marketplace of very important commodities.
8. All of the sufferers of enforced disappearances within the remaining 15 years will have to be rescued and the ones liable for extrajudicial killings should be known and punished.
9. A fee should be shaped to spot the corruption in banking and effort sectors and proportion marketplace within the remaining 15 years.
10. Regulation enforcement, management and judiciary’s serve as to be unbiased with out executive interference.
On December 7, one individual was once killed as round 50 had been injured as BNP activists and police clashed within the capital’s Nayapaltan. Amid a barrage of cocktail explosions hurled by way of celebration carders, concentrated on legislation enforcers. In retaliation, tear shells and rubber bullets had been fired by way of police.
Additionally, the a lot expected look of its ill chief Begum Zia, convicted of cash embezzlement from orphanage fund and digital participation of its performing chairman Tarique Rahma within the rally additionally didn’t occur.
“From an competitive pitch to convey down the federal government, it ended up in a whimper of protest,” mentioned ladies activist Shahnaz Parvin.
The collection of the date was once to hyperlink the agitation for regime trade in Dhaka to Global Human Rights Day. The BNP has drawn a lot sustenance from the weaponisation of human rights. Even the studies by way of UN teams on enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings had long gone a protracted method to advertise a story that the Awami League was once destroying democracy in Bangladesh and thus all way, honest and foul, was once legit to convey it down.
BNP Secretary Basic Mirza Fakhrul had admitted in media interviews that the USA sanctions towards some senior officers of the Fast Motion Battalion (RAB), together with former police leader Benazir Ahmed, had a great deal energised BNP’s phased agitation that started with district rallies and was once to culminate in Dhaka on Dec 10.
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The BNP lobbyists had anticipated the USA might factor sanctions towards few extra Bangladesh police and safety officers to discourage the highest echelons of Hasina executive from resorting to tricky policing to neutralise the Opposition agitation.
Now the BNP made the 1st mistake over the venue of the Dhaka rally. They refused to organise it at Suhrawardy Udyan, the herbal selection for any celebration to carry an enormous rally in Dhaka, and sought to organise it in entrance of celebration headquarters at Naya Paltan.
“No management will permit a rally in a central industry district,” mentioned a police authentic.
When the police gave the impression decided to not permit the rally at Naya Paltan, the BNP management in Dhaka sponsored off and after all agreed to carry it at Golap Bagh, amidst hypothesis that it was once pushing from a venue with a smaller conserving capability as it was once now not positive of filling up the Suhrawardy Udyan.
Failure to take action would undermine BNP’s tall claims of main a well-liked agitation, specifically after Sheikh Hasina’s large rallies in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
The second one giant setback for the BNP was once the USA State Division’s announcement at the night time earlier than the December 10 rally.
It mentioned, “Lately the U.S. Division of the Treasury’s Place of business of Overseas Belongings Keep watch over (OFAC), in popularity of World Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day, is sanctioning a various array of over 40 folks and entities which might be hooked up to corruption or human rights abuse throughout 9 international locations.
“Over the process 2022, Treasury took a large number of movements to advertise responsibility for human rights abusers and corrupt actors internationally, together with sanctions on dozens of people and entities together with within the Western Balkans, Belarus, Liberia, Guatemala, the Russian Federation, Burma, and Iran. Treasury applied more than a few gear and government — together with Govt Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the World Magnitsky Human Rights Responsibility Act — to exhibit the U.S. executive’s center of attention on selling admire for human rights and countering corruption.
“Corrupt actors and human rights abusers each depend on deficiencies within the global monetary gadget to perpetrate their actions,” mentioned Underneath Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Monetary Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “Over the last 12 months, Treasury has made combatting corruption and severe human rights abuse a best precedence, together with thru the usage of monetary sanctions and addressing vulnerabilities within the U.S. and global monetary methods. By way of exposing the egregious habits of those actors, we will assist disrupt their actions, dismantle their networks, and starve them of assets.”
The State Division press notice mentioned the “United States is dedicated to taking movements in line with its values and acknowledges that admire for human rights is a prerequisite for world peace, safety, and prosperity.”
It additionally mentioned that “lately’s movements also are a key part of the Biden-Harris Management’s efforts to put into effect the first-ever U.S. Technique for Countering Corruption, launched in December 2021. The treasury is operating diligently to put into effect different components of the tactic, together with efforts to curb illicit finance associated with corruption.
For instance, as a part of the Treasury’s ongoing paintings imposing the Company Transparency Act, the Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community (FinCEN) issued in September 2022 a last rule on really useful possession data reporting necessities, which can assist forestall corrupt actors and different criminals from the use of nameless shell firms to cover their ill-gotten positive factors. “
The setback for the BNP and its Islamist allies is that even though rankings of entities internationally have suffered US sanctions, there was once now not a unmarried one from Bangladesh. For weeks, BNP lobbyists had been quietly circulating lists in social media or retailers with reference to them of a number of police and para-military officers in Bangladesh who could be slapped with sanctions.
Topping the record was once the police intelligence leader Monirul Islam, an overly environment friendly officer whose position in counterterrorism have been lauded even by way of FBI officers up to now.
A former BNP press wing officer-turned-party activist, Mushfiq Fazal Ansari, who now attends press briefings incessantly in UN and the White Area, posted on his Fb days again about an upcoming sanction, an example amongst a litany of ways the celebration activists had been looking to glance upon international energy to spice up morale of its grassroos
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The entire objective of this workout was once to scare and demoralize the highest brass, in order that BNP and its Islamist allies may resume their firebombing and assassination marketing campaign with none counter motion.
Now that no unmarried Bangladesh entity has been slapped with sanctions, now not most effective can the federal government breathe simple and battle boulevard violence with suitable measures but in addition the BNP sticks out and not using a pressure multiplier.
December is Bangladesh’s month of victory, the month in 1971 when Bangladesh freedom warring parties and their Indian allies overwhelmed the oppressive Pakistani navy and liberated Bengalis to create South Asia’s youngest country.
This December, the BNP was once looking to script a brand new narrative for the rustic by way of stating it because the month to start out a battle to revive democracy. That narrative has now fallen flat on its face.
“Any such depressing turnout coupled with outright public rejection of the celebration’s grisly boulevard terror marketing campaign years again obviously put the celebration in a bind and it kind of feels the celebration’s greatest mistake is to unharness the decision for violence in December, as an alternative of celebrating the month of victory with humans,” Sufi Farque, an data tech expert-turned-politician mentioned.
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Dec 10, 2022