Awami League joint general secretary and foreign minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud said, those who commit arson in the name of politics, can burn people to death in the name of politics, they have no right to do politics in this country. These are political crooks, not politicians. Those who give them financial support, lead them, are the leaders of the miscreants. So, under the leadership of BNP-Jamaat, the fire that has been terrorized at various times and is still burning, their leaders are the leaders of these miscreants. A united resistance should be built against them.
He said these things at a memorial meeting organized for the death of the founding leader of the United States Awami League, Advocate Ataur Rahman Shamim, who was killed in the Bailey Road fire incident at Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club on Thursday (April 4). Bangladesh Mafswal Journalist Society organized this memorial meeting.
Stating that a united resistance should be built against those who carry out fire terror, the foreign minister said, "I have not seen people being burnt to death in the name of politics anywhere in the world in the last two or three decades." Not just burning people to death, you know how petrol bombs were thrown in trains before the last election. They got into the passenger compartment and got out after throwing petrol bombs there. They know there are women and children. Women and children were burnt to ashes. This fire is terrorism, it is beyond imagination. So today, just as there is no fire in any place, we need to be aware of it, in the same way; we need to build a united resistance against those who carry out fire terror in the name of politics in the country.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud commented that the government has taken steps to prevent any tragic fire incident from happening again. Actually, in Bangladesh, adequate measures are not kept in houses and especially in restaurants for fire fighting. As you know, many restaurants have been closed due to lack of a proper fire fighting system in Dhaka city. Our government has taken strict measures to prevent such fires from happening again.
If people lack awareness, it is not possible to put out the fire even if all the measures are taken. When we formed the government in 2009, only 40 upazilas of the country had fire service stations. Now every upazila has a fire service station. This is great progress.
He said that before going up to 20 floors, the fire service did not have a system for fire fighting. Fire service personnel are trained to fight fires in buildings of 20 floors or higher. Initiatives have been taken so that even the fire service personnel can extinguish the fire from the sky. But ultimately what is needed is people's awareness. If there is lack of awareness of people, it is not possible to put out the fire even after taking all the measures. Our country is a summer country. Every house in our country needs to have fire extinguishing system.
The former foreign minister AK Abdul Momen spoke as a special guest under the chairmanship of M. A. Karim, the chief adviser of Weekly Ganabangla. Apart from this, Fardin Rahman, the only daughter of the late Ataur Rahman, former general secretary of Mukti Jodha Sangsad Safiqul Bahar Majumdar Tipu, Moshiur Ahmed, member of Bangladesh Awami League's Industry and Commerce Subcommittee, Chairman of Bangladesh Mofswal Journalist Society also spoke at the memorial meeting. Suman Sardar, General Secretary MA Bashar also spoke.