BNP repeated long history of pre-election violence on 28-29 Oct, Momen tells diplomats
The foreign minister went on to say that the BNP often plays victim to misguide diplomatic missions and our foreign friends in order to gain sympathy
The BNP and its allies have a long history of pre-election violence and aggression, and they did the same thing on 28-29 October, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said on Monday while briefing foreign envoys and development partners on the country's current political situation.
"They have not learned anything from the past. The opposition is now out to unleash violence in the country again," he said at a programme at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka.
"We are shocked by what unfolded on 28 October. We are not, however, surprised, [as we have] experienced BNP-Jamaat's dreadful violent events in the past. They have not changed much," Momen added.
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He said the motive behind terrorising the nation and misguiding the people is to impede democratic processes and promote unconstitutional forces. BNP's tactics of fear and forgery did not work out before, and they will not now.
"We reaffirm our government's strong and unwavering stance to stick to the democratic process as mandated by the Constitution and hold free, fair, and credible elections in time," he added.
"I emphasise that every human life matters – our BNP friends understand that or not! We will keep showing the utmost patience and restraint, and at the same time, our law enforcement agencies should also do everything under their disposal within the legal parameters to provide safety and security to our citizens," he continued.
Law Minister Anisul Huq, prime minister's private industry and investment affairs adviser Salman F Rahman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were also present on the occasion.
The foreign ministry has given a compilation of video footage and still photographs and also a written version of what happened on 28-29 October – killings, attacks on police and journalists, and on the chief justice's residence, among others.
However, more than 50 diplomats, UN missions' chiefs, and representatives from development partners were silent, as they did not ask any questions regarding the briefing of the foreign ministry.
"They fell silent. But they had no questions. They were also told in writing," Shahriar Alam told reporters after the event.
In response to a question about whether the diplomats were convinced or not, the law minister said, "But we are not saying that silence means they have completely agreed or they are disagreeing. What we are saying is that they were given an opportunity to ask questions. They did not ask any questions."
"That means, as far as we can understand, the explanation we gave is at least clear," he added.
During his inaugural speech, Momen said, "As you may already be aware, BNP has called for a three-day nation-wide blockade starting tomorrow (Tuesday). We can only expect more and more assault on the lives and properties of innocent civilians."
"However, apart from the law-and-order aspect, there is an economic aspect to the strikes and blockades too. According to the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, strikes and blockades by BNP cost the country a total of Tk1,600 crore (or $192.3 million), or 0.2% of GDP per day," he said.
Representatives of UN agencies and international organisations, including foreign diplomatic missions in Dhaka, including the US, India, China, the UK, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, Spain, Singapore, Canada, France, Russia, and Japan, participated in the briefing.
