AL leader Matia urges all to resist ‘communalism’ after Sunamganj violence

Matia Chowdhury, a member of the Awami League presidium, has urged all to build resistance to “communalism” after attacks on Hindu homes in Sunamganj’s Shalla.

The former agriculture minister says she does not believe that the people of Sunamganj are driven by communal beliefs as it is known to be a place of communal harmony.

“Evil forces are carrying out attacks repeatedly at a time when the government of Sheikh Hasina is taking the country forward with the message of peace,” Matia said at an event in Dhaka on Saturday. She compared the “evil forces” with the “serpents whizzing out venom with every breath”.

A committee organised the programme to commemorate late president Zillur Rahman at the National Press Club on his eighth death anniversary.

Those who remember Zillur and believe in secularism should build resistance to the sectarian forces, Matia said.

She described Zillur as a polite man with a steel spine. “He never depended on others to perform his own duty,” Matia said.

Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif, a joint general secretary of the ruling party, said the people who are speaking about democracy now “had been involved” in the Aug 21, 2004 grenade attack, in which Zillur’s wife Ivy Rahman, president of Mohila Awami League, was killed along with 23 others.