Politics has been exiled from Bangladesh: Moyeen Khan
“For the past 15 years, the government has repeatedly tried to portray the opposition as a terrorist group," Moyeen said
Politics has been exiled from Bangladesh, and the only things remaining are power, money, and financial gain, BNP Standing Committee Member Dr Moyeen Khan has said.
"For the past 15 years, the government has repeatedly tried to portray the opposition [BNP] as a terrorist group. They call us a militant organisation. Their words will not work this time," he said during his keynote speech at the National Press Club in a discussion titled "The Role of Professionals in the Ongoing Peaceful Movement for the Restoration of Democracy" today (20 January).
"Remember this. They [govt] tried the same thing two months ago," Moyeen added.
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The discussion, organised by the United Lawyers Front, was presided over by Advocate Zainul Abedin, vice chairman of BNP.
Moyeen Khan said, "There's a lot to say about 1/11, and today's discussion is unrelated to that. The main goal of independence was democracy and the economic liberation of the impoverished people of the then East Pakistan. We fought for nine months in the hope of equality.
"Why do we have to say that today, 52 years later, we have no democracy, no voting rights?" he questioned.
"If anyone talks about liberation or democracy, they are taken away. Did we fight the liberation war for this?" the BNP leader said.
He continued, "Today's movement is not BNP versus Awami League [AL]. It is unarmed citizens versus the party in power. How the world viewed the events of 28 October must be considered. They say the government cracked down on the opposition on 28 October. The world says the election on 7 January was not fair."
Moyeen Khan said, "Politics is now a source of power. The AL has been in power for fifteen years, and might stay for another fifteen. They say they will stay in power forever. It's true we couldn't stop the election, but we have indeed won the hearts of the country's 180 million people and 120 million voters."
Among others, Gono Forum President Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, BNP Vice Chairman Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Joint Secretary General Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, and Legal Affairs Secretary Barrister Kaiser Kamal, were present during the discussion.
