Curfew will be relaxed gradually, PM tells business community

The curfew will be relaxed gradually and the situation will improve very soon, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday, assuring the private sector that the government will do whatever needed to help them run businesses and factories properly.

She said the government was forced to impose curfew and deploy the army to save lives and properties of people.

"The situation has already come under control to a great extent. We hope it will improve further shortly," she told an audience of business leaders who urged her to contain violence at any cost, restore internet and allow them to keep factories running.

At a meeting with the prime minister at her office on Monday, the business community leaders also requested the prime minister to keep Dhaka-Chattogram highway under the watch of the army, if needed, so that the country's export-import trades go undisrupted.

Regarding the demand of opening the mills and factories she said when the government will be convinced that there is no risk in a particular area at that time it will allow the factories and mills to reopen, reports UNB.

"You can also reopen your factories and mills if you want at your risk; if anything happens, you will be responsible for that," she said.

The prime minister said the government was forced to impose curfew to save the lives and properties of the people. 

"Many people wanted to tell that we have deployed army against the students. I am doing politics and I have come here after doing student politics. We have tried to the last moment to resolve the matter politically. After that we have been forced to deploy the army. We have deployed army and declared curfew," she said.

She said students are the most sensitive subjects, and the government has to look after the students and their security.

"We have tried to provide them with security by our police and other law enforcement agencies," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said when the destructive activities started the students said they were not involved with those activities and they also condemned those activities, saying they do not want these types of destruction.

"We deployed army only then. We did not deploy army before that," she said.

Talking about a rumour that she left the country, the PM said, "Sheikh Hasina never flees."

She said Islami Chhatra Shibir were involved in the destruction in a planned way.    

"They are trying to do their terrorists activities during the curfew. Who are these people? They are not unknown faces. You saw the BNP extended their support and also the convicted criminal Tarique Rahman who tried to kill me through grenade attack," she said.

She mentioned that when she sits to talk to the businesspeople she never sees who is in favour of the BNP or Jamaat.

"I know everyone. I never identify businesspeople regarding their party affiliation, because I love my country," she said.

Referring to several past destructive activities like arson attacks of the BNP-Jamaat clique including those in 2013-14, she said the government has taken steps as per the law.

"We have ensured punishment for many of them, but after getting out from the jail they are showing their old face, but this time we will not spare them so easily like in the past,' she said.

FBCCI president Mahbubul Alam, BGMEA President Abdul Mannan Kochi, Banks Association of Bangladesh (BAB) president Nazrul Islam Majumder, Shop Owners Association president Helal Uddin, BKMEA leader Mohammad Hatem, Basundhara chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Nasim Manzur of Apex, and Pran Group chairman Ahsan Khan Chowdhury also spoke.

A documentary on the recent carnage was screened at the programme.