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Published : 02 May 2023, 03:50 AM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has again ruled out talks with the BNP over its demand for the installation of a caretaker government before the next general election, recalling the deadly violence during protests against the 2014 polls.
The president of the ruling Awami League reiterated her position on the matter in an interview with the Voice of America Bangla on Saturday.
The BNP has launched a movement to oust the Hasina government and replace it with a non-partisan election-time administration, alleging that polls under the Awami League have never been free and fair.
The Awami League maintains that no un-elected government will ever be allowed in Bangladesh.
Asked if she would sit with the BNP leaders for talks to end the stalemate during the interview, which was aired on Monday, Hasina recalled events from 1975, when her father and independence hero Bangabanddhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated with most of the family.
She alleged BNP founder and Bangladesh’s first military ruler Ziaur Rahman was involved with the Aug 15, 1975 massacre, and mentioned that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman were convicted of graft.
“They are convicts and killers of my parents and siblings. Even after that, I had shown generosity for the sake of the country, its people and democracy,” the prime minister said, referring to the dialogue before the 2018 elections.
“Now there is nothing else to talk about with them [BNP],” she remarked.
“In fact, the BNP was formed by a military dictator who usurped power through the backdoor by killing my parents and siblings in 1975,” Hasina said.
She said no one complained about the 2008 election won by the Awami League. “Their [BNP’s] alliance won 29 out of 300 seats. We bagged the rest. It made the BNP’s position clear among the people.”
“This is why they [BNP] tried to stop the 2014 election instead of participating. To stop the election, they started firebombing. Can somebody imagine people travelling by bus being burnt alive in the name of protests?”
Hasina alleged the BNP and its allies torched 3,800 vehicles, 29 trains, 500 schools and 70 government offices during the protests.
“But people’s support is the biggest power. This is why they could not stop the election, and we retained power.”
The Awami League chief also recalled that the BNP barred her from seeing Khaleda after the former prime minister lost her youngest son Arafat Rahman Coco in 2015.
“They refused to let my car in and then closed the wicket gate on me after I got out. I was insulted. You tell me how I can hold a dialogue with them.”
Hasina said she still remembers the condition of the survivors of the violence centring the 2014 polls. “I don’t feel like sitting with them [BNP] when I remember the burnt people. It feels like I’ll smell the odour of the burnt victims if I sit with them [BNP].”
‘SANCTIONS ON RAB ENCOURAGED MILITANTS’
Asked what reforms the government brought to or planned for the Rapid Action Battalion or RAB to get the US human rights sanctions on the force lifted, Hasina said it was the US that advised the creation of the RAB and arranged training for the force to suppress militancy.
“It’s unclear to me why the sanctions were imposed on the RAB when the Awami League maintained democracy in Bangladesh after coming to power. During the Awami League government, RAB officers are tried if they commit any crimes,” Hasina said.
“We always bring them [RAB] to justice if they do something wrong like murder. I would say no other country does this, not even America.”
“Even after that, they [RAB] faced sanctions. In fact, it might have encouraged the militants.”
