Govt guarding atheists: Khaleda

 

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia visits party headquarters on Wednesday, two days after a police raid at Nayapaltan in the capital. Photo: Amran Hossain

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has alleged that the government is killing opposition activists by opening fire on the “innocent ones” who are protesting “government repression and misrule”.
“While killing our people this way, the government is guarding the atheists,” she said, referring to the Shahbagh protesters, while addressing people who gathered in front of BNP headquarters at Nayapaltan Wednesday afternoon.

Also the leader of the opposition, Khaleda urged the government to stop what she termed as “genocide” and arrest of opposition activists, warning that there will be trials for these in the future.
“Special tribunal will be set up to try everybody responsible, from top to bottom of the government, for the genocide,” she warned.
The BNP chief reached the party office around 6:00pm and started her speech after visiting different rooms of the office.
Condemning the raid at the BNP head office and arrest of its leaders and activists, Khaleda asked the government to free them immediately.
“If they are not released by tomorrow (Thursday), get ready to observe a countrywide dawn to dusk hartal (shutdown) on March 18 and 19,” she asked the countrymen.
The opposition leader accused police of vandalism, looting money and important documents from the BNP office during Monday evening raid.
Police themselves planted cocktails inside the BNP headquarters and later blamed the party leaders and activists for those, she alleged.
“The government is carrying out repression on those who are vocal against its misrule to hide its corruption: the corruption in Destiny, Hallmark, share market and Padma bridge project.”
Saying that people are fed up with and have no trust in the government anymore, she asked the government to quit power immediately and let a caretaker government hold the election.
“Quit power willingly. Otherwise, people will force you to do so.”
Talking about war crimes trial, Khaleda reiterated that her government, if returned to power, would hold trial for crimes against humanity maintaining an international standard.
Asking for an end to attacks on minorities, she said the government would have to bear the responsibility for such attacks.
Khaleda went to visit the party headquarters couple of days after an unprecedented police raid there, when police broke open the office and arrested over 200 opposition leaders, including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
During the raid, law enforcers recovered 12 homemade bombs from inside the BNP headquarters.
The raid was launched after several homemade bombs had been blasted near a BNP rally held in front of its office.
The next day, BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul, Sadeque Hossain Khoka and Altaf Hossain Chowdhury were freed. The rest 154, including Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and BNP Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed, were sent to jail following filing of two separate cases in this connection.