Trinamool BNP Chairperson Shamser Mobin Chowdhury Bir Bikram(BB) said that the way BNP attacked ambulances, hospitals and policemen in a fortnight without any provocation; it seems that they (BNP) may have carried out this violence with the aim of calling hartal. He said that the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas, recently met the Home Minister and asked if the government would prevent the gathering of the opposition political parties. Today it became clear who actually committed the violence. The ambassador will surely verify it.
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury said these things in an exclusive interview given to Barta24.com on Saturday evening. Planning Editor of Barta24.com Ashraful Islam spoke.
Barta24.com: From today, the politics of the country again stepped on the path of conflict... How would you describe the events of this day as a senior politician, diplomat and freedom fighter?
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury BB: From what we can see in the media, this conflict-violence is mainly started by BNP. It has been seen that BNP workers first attacked the cars of some Awami League leaders and supporters coming from Gazipur, then they attacked and vandalized the residence of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. And set fire to one car after another. The police hospital was set on fire, the ambulance was also set on fire. As you know, ambulances are supposed to be above all forms of violence. No one will ever attack an ambulance, I fought the liberation war. We never shot at an ambulance. Maybe we knew that Pakistan Army personnel were hiding inside this ambulance, but we never fired at the ambulance. This is an internationally accepted practice. There we saw that BNP people also attacked in the police hospital, where many were undergoing treatment. Sad to note that a policeman lost his life in the violence due to this conflict... so far the violence seems to be coming from one side. What I saw in the media. They (BNP) now they have already turned the one-point movement into violence. Movement does not mean violence. In the end they could not even hold the rally. Since the police have been attacked, the police will naturally take whatever action is taken for their own safety, to save lives. One dead, several injured. The hospital was attacked, the judge's residence was attacked, and their assembly was also vandalized from there.
Barta24.com: What do you think BNP actually wanted to achieve through this program?
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury Birvikram: I don't know what their target was. Maybe the goal was to cause violence...I don't know. A strike is a political process of the time. Now how relevant will the strike be to the people...you know that people's daily livelihood is already under threat due to inflation. A strike there means once again depriving them of employment. If the people observe the hartal spontaneously, it is one thing, and if the people do not observe the hartal, if the people get busy with their normal life, then this hartal of BNP will also flop.
Barta24.com: What effect do you think today's violence will have on the upcoming national elections?
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury Bir Bikram: For quite some time, 'Peaceful Election' was called 'Peaceful Election'. As you know, recently the US Ambassador Peter Haas met with the Home Secretary. There, he wanted to know if the government would block the BNP rally. I have not seen any obstruction from the government yet. Before the rally started, though thousands of people attended the rally, the residence of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh was attacked. I don't remember if this kind of thing has ever happened before. Even the biggest movement in Bangladesh, 'anti-Ershad movement' in the late eighties, I still do not remember if there was an attack on the residence of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh? The Chief Justice has no role here. The Chief Justice is a constitutional post. This is not a personal or official post. Why the attack on his home? It seems to me that this incident of violence is well-planned. They may have done this violence with the aim of striking. I don't know how many members of BNP have been injured, we don't know if anyone from the BNP has been injured. I saw Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announcing the hartal, we did not see other leaders of the party. I saw some people in the morning. Now the thing is, I believe that these will not be obstacles in the next election. Election will be on time. It is the BNP's decision whether to participate or not.
Barta24.com: Separate programs of BNP and Jamaat in the capital on the same day. Do you think someone else has shouldered the burden of BNP...Do you see any connection in this violence?
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury BB: Do you think Jamaat has separated from BNP at all? They may not have formally organized the same program but they did commit simultaneous violence. I saw many Jamaat workers marching and demanding resignation of the government. Speaking in the same language as BNP. It can be said unequivocally that the two groups are dependent on each other.
Barta24.com: What message did this violence of BNP send to the western world?
Shamser Mobin Chowdhury Bir Bikram: The US ambassador has already wanted to be assured from the Home Minister that the government will not block the program of the opposition. I want to say, let them see today. The assembly of Awami League was completely peaceful, which I saw. There was no violence of any kind. Political parties will go with political slogans. But we have not seen any violence from the Awami League. I didn't see any obstacles. Today all violence comes from one side. Many embassies are here. Especially the actions of the US ambassador..he must have seen it all. He will verify who committed the violence.