Police last night arrested three top leaders of the main opposition BNP and looked for some others on Friday, complicating the already murky political situation in the run-up to the national elections.
The arrests and raids which continued through early hours of today would dash dialogue hopes and fuel the overheated political front with a third spell of 72-hour hartal beginning tomorrow, political leaders and analysts fear.
BNP policymakers Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Rafiqul Islam Miah were detained when they were coming out of the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel around 8pm after attending the founding anniversary programme of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo.
Police also confirmed the arrest of Abdul AwalMintoo, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’sadviser, and Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, her special assistant. Both were coming out of the chairperson’s residence when the police picked them up.
Police also arrested Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s Vice-President Anwar Hossain Tipu in front of the National Press Club.
Police confirmed the arrest of BNP leaders, but did not cite any specific reasons. State Minister for Home Shamsul HoqueTuku told the Dhaka Tribune last night that the opposition leaders had been arrested based on specific allegations.
He, however, refused to elaborate on the allegations.“You will come to know about the allegations when they [the BNP leaders] will be taken to court,”Tuku said.
“Usually police arrest someone based on specific allegations. Those, who will be arrested in future, will also be arrested based on specific allegations,” he added.
The arrests were greeted with violent protests in the capital city and instant hartal calls in hometowns of Moudud and MK Anwar in Noakhali and Comilla. Reports of sporadic violence, like removing railway track at Feni, and blocking highway and vandalising vehicles at Sitakunda in Chittagong, were pouring in from different parts of the country.
Police also raided the houses of BNP leaders Mirza Abbas, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Zainul Abdin Farroque and Nasiruddin Ahmed Asim.
As rumours spread like a wildfire last night that more BNP leaders might be arrested,many went into hiding. Many of their mobiles were found switched off.
The police increased deployment of forces around the Gulshan residence of BNP Chairperson and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia. She was inside the house.
The BNP leaders were arrested three and a half hours after the party had announcedthethree-day countrywide hartal from tomorrow. Around 50 police personnel also took position around Khaleda’s Gulshan office and her residence after the leaders had left the office announcing the programme.
Hours before the arrests, while addressing a discussion programme at the National Press Clubin the afternoon,Moudud threatened the government that a “mass curfew” would be enforced, if needed, to materialise their demand for a non-party caretaker government to hold the next parliamentary elections.
The police increased deployment of forces around the Gulshan office of the BNP chairperson in the afternoon but withdrew the force late at night.
A few police officials on condition of anonymity said violence during the opposition alliance’s last hartalswas the reason behind the arrests.
At least 21 people were killed during the two 60-hour hartals and scores of others, including children, were severely injured in arson attack and crude bomb explosions.
The police took the detained BNP leaders to the Minto Road office of the Detective Branch.
Learning about the arrests, Rafiqul Islam Miah’s wife ShahidaRafique went to the DB office. She alleged that the DB neither allowed her to meet her husband nor explained the reasons of his arrest.
Police, however,received food, clothes and other necessary belongings from the relatives and personal staffs of the arrested leaders. A medical team and an ambulance went to the DB office around 10pm but the reason could not be known.
A few days ago ruling Awami League leaders blamed the opposition for hartal violence across the country in their speeches in and outside parliament, saying the BNP would have to take the responsibilities for the violence.The opposition denied the allegations andblamed the government.
BNP acting secretary general MirzaFakhrul Islam Alamgir met Khaleda at her residence amid the raids and arrests last night.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune after his meeting with the opposition leader,Fakhrul criticisedthe government move and said arresting the opposition leaders would close the door fora dialogue.
The BNP haslong been demanding that the upcoming election be held under a non-party caretaker government whilethe ruling Awami League has been firm to hold the pollsunder the present governmentaccording to the current constitutional provision.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month proposed forming an all-party polls-time government in which she wouldhead a 10-member all-party cabinet – five members from the ruling party and five from the opposition.
The BNP, however, rejected the proposal and stuck to its demand for a non-partisan polls-time government.
A telephone conversation between Hasina and Khaleda last month saw the hope of a dialogue wither further as the two leaders did not deviate from their stands.
They, however, never publicly cancelled the scope of holding a dialogue until Thursday. Fakhrul said the arrest of the BNP leaders now was likely to diminish the hope of a dialogue.
He harshly condemned the incident, saying the government had chosen the path of repressing opposition leaders and activists fearing mass upsurge.
“The government is talking about the dialogue but repressing the opposition men. It is contradictory. They have shunned the path and destroyed the atmosphere for a dialogue,” the BNP spokesperson told the Dhaka Tribune.
He demanded immediate release of the detained leaders.
BNP Joint Secretary GeneralRuhulKabir Rizvi, however, threatened to extend the party’s hartal programme, if needed.
When contacted, Awami League Presidium member Nuh-ul-Alam Leninalleged that it was the opposition party that had already shunned the path ofthe dialogue.
“I donot think these developments will close the door of a dialogue,”he said.
Former bureaucrat and a caretaker government adviser Akbar Ali Khantold the Dhaka Tribune over phone:“The arrests will not help create a congenial atmosphere for holding the dialogue.”
The political analyst also said there were three preconditions to holding the dialogue: the political environment needed improvement, the political leaders would have to change their language attacking each other, and they would have to budge from their rigid stances.
Akbar said he did not see any progress in meeting the conditions.
“The dialogue can be held any time, but the environment has to be improved and these arrests will rather hamper the process of creating the congenial environment,” he said.