Protracted military rule of General Ziaur Rahman, General Ershad and the misrule of General Zia’s widow Khaleda Zia brought the country to the brink of ruin. But thanks to the success of democratic movement under the capable leadership of Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of the country’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh has revived its lost glory and it is now on a development highway. Bangladesh has become the most attractive destination for investment of various countries. The international community is increasingly coming with their investment funds in different sectors in Bangladesh.
Fighting with unprecedented guts against the long military rule, terror activities, nationwide violence and the adverse impact of climate change, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has brought the nation to economically promising and prestigious position by dint of her relentless efforts. Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule has defeated the menace of terror which almost crippled the life and livelihood. The foreigners were previously leaving Bangladesh taking it to be a rogue and terror nation. But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has dealt with the matter seriously and our armed forces and the other anti-terror wings we have nipped the extremism in the bud. No further attempt by the terror groups was successful. Now the security situation is the best ever. The peace-loving people believe that if Sheikh Hasina is not in power the terror group, Islamic extremist and the anti-liberation forces under BNP-Jamaat will bring back the country under the terror dominated extremist forces like Afghan Taliban. So, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is needed for quite some time more to make the country more stable in all respects.
The BNP previously posed itself as a stumbling block to giving democracy an institutional shape and it is still continuing its evil practice through undemocratic activities and attitude. They become violent against the rule of law. It is mentionable that when the law enforcement agencies didn’t allow them to hold a rally, very surprisingly they started nation-wide violence in 2015 and resorted to hurl deadly petrol bombs which claimed lives of thousands of innocent people. Country suffered immensely from this politics of violence. Violence produces nothing but takes lives and sheds blood. That’s why, they should take this into consideration before taking any crucial decision. Some people, who had been, by faith, against the Liberation War of Bangladesh had suffered a humiliating defeat in the War of Liberation in 1971. They want to fight another liberation war .The people of Bangladesh fought the liberation war against the Pakistani Occupation Army who had conducted genocide. After the nine- month war we defeated the Pakistan Army and the independent Bangladesh was created. Now the question is against who they want to wage a war? BNP secretary general recently said that they would fight another liberation war and oust the present government of ruling Awami League which has led the War of Liberation in 1971.
“We have to be engaged in another war of liberation in driving out the present government”, said BNP secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. That’s the real stand of BNP, and since its inception the party is pursuing this policy. They have always been engaged themselves in violence. The politics of violence is inseparable from BNP as it had been formed in the military garrison and it has never been practising democracy throughout its history. BNP, like their predecessor, the Pakistan Muslim League, had been exploiting Islam and the Muslim sentiment. Islam had been frequently exploited for staying to illegal power and the military autocracy created in Pakistan by then ruling political party, Pakistan Muslim League. And the BNP is the latest version of Pakistan Muslim League, which was directly against the concept of independent Bangladesh.
BNP leaders in their speech didn’t make it clear that whom they will fight against and what would be achieved through another war of liberation. They said that they would drive out the present Awami League government which is globally acclaimed as the most promising party in achieving significant economic development. The economic super -powers including USA, China, Japan, and other G20 nations are keen to be development partners of Bangladesh and it has become possible by the present government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Almost all the people involved in BNP politics are the defeated forces. They have been opposing the independent Bangladesh since its inception. During the liberation war, those defeated forces who had been engaged in helping the Pakistan Army in conducting genocide and torturing and ravishing our mothers and sisters are now provoking another war of liberation. They have calculated that the Awami League led the war of liberation and because of that they have been champion of independence of Bangladesh and the main objective of BNP is to crush Awami League. And once the Awami League can be crushed then there would be none to hold high the spirit of the liberation war and independence of Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh have experienced that there had been a move to turn Bangladesh into East Pakistan immediately after the brutal killing of country’s father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975 by a military coup. And the BNP founder general Ziaur Rahman was the main beneficiary of the Bangabandhu’s killing. It is crystal clear that BNP has neither respect for country’s founding father nor do they have love for the independent Bangladesh. It is an ideological issue. They can’t respect the thing they do not believe in. In one sense fighting Awami League means fighting the spirit of the liberation war. If BNP can fight out Awami League, they can achieve their previous spirit of Pakistani rule. It is true that still the BNP can’t forget about the defeat of the Pakistan Army in the liberation war in 1971 and the humiliating surrender of 93 thousand Pakistani soldiers 16th December 1971.
Let the good sense prevail in BNP and they should contribute to make democracy and ongoing development undertaken by the present government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a success.
Sharif Shahab Uddin is Editor-in-Chief, Bangladesh Post.