BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday placed a seven-point set of proposals to the government including ensuring level-playing field for all political parties with a view to holding an inclusive election that may resolve the current political stalemate.
“We have given seven proposals for ensuring a fair election. Now it is the government who will have to decide whether they will sit for dialogue accepting our proposals or face a movement,” Khaleda, also the chief of 20-party alliance, said at an emergency press conference held at her Gulshan office.
The three-time former premier, whose alliance refrained from participating in the January 5 election, announced that the 20-party alliance would observe January 5 as “Democracy Killing Day” through holding rallies and demonstrations across the country with black flags.
The alliance would hold a rally in the capital on January 5, the BNP chief said hoping that the government would not hinder their programmes.
Khaleda said: “We want to hold a rally on January 5 and hope that we will be allowed to arrange it peacefully. We will come up with our action programmes gradually. No one will be able to subdue people’s movement by creating obstacles and unleashing attack on them.”
The Awami League-led government is set to observe January 5 as the “Victory Day of Democracy.”
Khaleda’s other suggestions are reconstitution of the Election Commission with impartial, competent and honest persons before announcing the fresh election schedule, amending the RPO and removing anomalies in the voter list; dissolving parliament and cabinet before announcing election schedule, and handing over power to an impartial and non-partisan administration through consensus among all political parties; deploying members of the armed forces with magistracy power soon after announcement of the election schedule; launching special drive before the election campaign to arrest the listed criminals and recover illegal arms, withdrawing controversial and partisan officials from the administration and the law enforcement agencies; releasing all political prisoners and withdrawing “false cases” filed against political leaders; and reopening all print and electronic media outlets shut down during the Awami League government, and release of all journalists including Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of the daily Amar Desh.
Asked whether she also demands release of the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders convicted for their involvement in 1971 war crimes, Khaleda replied that those who committed crimes, must be punished.
“But the trial must be held in an impartial manner maintaining international standard.” The BNP chief said they were not political prisoners.
“However, we have noticed that many people are being implicated in false charges,” she said without mentioning any name.
Asked whether her party would participate in election arranged in line with the current constitution, Khaleda said: “We have clearly stated the next election must be held under a non-party administration.”
She also urged all democratic parties, forces and individuals to get united to wage a national movement to establish a people’s government.
On the ruling party’s stance that the next national election would not be held before 2019, the BNP chief said the current “illegal government” did not represent people. “Despite that, we gave them one year. Now we want a free, fair and inclusive election as early as possible,” she added.
Reiterating the 20-party alliance’s stance on a free and fair election, Khaleda said the government must hold an inclusive election. “We think the proposals we have placed are very much logical and a solution lies there.”
She replied in the negative when asked whether the international community including the UN should play a role to resolve the ongoing political stand-off.
In response to another query on her party’s having organisational strength to wage a tougher movement, Khaleda said her party had proved its strength before the “one-sided election” of January 5.
“BNP is a well-organised party and it is completely ready to take to the streets with tougher action programmes,” she added.
In her written speech, Khaleda renewed her party’s threat that they would enforce a non-stop action programme if the government increased prices of power and gas.
On Tarique Rahman’s recent remarks that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a big razakar, she said her elder son had not made the comment in that way.
Khaleda, however, claimed that what Tarique said about Bangabandhu in London was based on facts and documents.