While the BNP leadership continues to reiterate their determination of holding a January 5 rally in Dhaka “at any cost,” the party’s field-level activists have said they were still unsure whether their top leaders would join them on the streets on the day.
Although the BNP had made a similar announcement of holding a rally “at any cost” in Gazipur on December 27, it backtracked at the last moment – creating uncertainty among its ranks. Further doubts were sown when no senior BNP leader came out to demonstrate on the streets during the two consequent hartals in Gazipur and across the country.
To make matters worse, the newly formed committee of Chhatra Dal also backtracked from holding a rally in Suhrawardy Udyan on January 2 – even after securing a last-minute permission from authorities. The student wing claimed they were unable to hold a programme in such a short notice.
However, the BNP’s Dhaka city unit had previously managed to hold many programmes in the capital after securing permission just hours before the programme.
The developments come as the country’s political arena is heated up ahead of January 5, when Awami League has announced a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan to mark the “Victory Day of Democracy,” while the BNP-led 20-party alliance has also said theywould hold a rally in the city at any cost, even if permission is denied.
Against such a backdrop, the BNP is maintaining caution while drawing up a strategy for its movement and being careful to avoid any violence, as it might backfire and give an upper-hand to the government.
AL, BNP plans for January 5
At a press conference yesterday, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said their rally would be peaceful. He also sought law enforcers’ assistance in making the programme successful.
He added that the rally would be held even if permission was not given, but expressed hopes that the administration would give permission for the sake of peace.
Meanwhile, at a separate event in the capital yesterday, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the BNP-led alliance would not be permitted to hold any rally on January 5 if there was concerns that the party’s activists might get involved in subversive activities.
Speaking elsewhere, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif also said his party would resist the BNP in Dhaka on January 5 if there was any attempt at creating violence. Criticising Rizvi’s statement of holding a rally at any cost, Hanif said: “BNP leaders’ threats and provocative speeches prove that they have no respect for law.”
Uncertainty among the ranks
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, BNP activists said they were sceptical about the party’s strength of waging a movement as the government was taking a hardline approach against them.
“If senior leaders do not take to the street, then why would we take the risk? Activists get inspired seeing the leaders on the street. So the leaders have to take to the streets first,” a Dhaka city unit leader told the Dhaka Tribune seeking anonymity.
He also said the main challenge of the BNP was to ensure the presence of senior leaders on the street.
A former Chhatra Dal leader, preferring not to be named, said the BNP enjoyed mass support but failed to cash in on it just because the senior leaders had a “stay safe” attitude.
“After calling hartal, senior leaders go into hiding and ask us to remain on the street. But when cases are filed against us, no one takes responsibility. So now it is the turn of senior leaders [to take to the streets].”
He said the Dhaka city unit committee was reconstituted to strengthen the movement but this time their performance was also frustrating. “The hartal programme was an acid test for the city BNP but they completely failed.”
However, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia told a press conference on Wednesday that her party leaders stayed on the street during the latest hartal and would remain on the street in the future as well.
Concerns about violence
There are concerns in the public mind that renewed tension in the political scene might trigger a repeat of the violence that broke out during the resistance movement preceding the January 5 national election last year.
Abdul Moyeen Khan, a BNP standing committee member, said: “Whether any occurrence of violence will take place or not depends entirely on the attitude of the government, depending on their wiliness to put up with a peaceful protest or thwart it with power.
“The BNP believes in peaceful democratic process and the Awami League at times even makes a mockery that BNP is not capable of violent protest. In a way they are right; seems BNP never teaches its rank and files to impose a one-track philosophy on others, keeping its faith on the axiom that differing opinion is the essence of democracy,” Abdul Moyeen said.
Party sources, meanwhile, said some senior BNP leaders have been maintaining regular contact with top Jamaat leaders, while even Khaleda Zia had talked to Jamaat leaders over phone.
A Dhaka city BNP leader said coordination was going on between Jamaat and his party, with Jamaat already assuring Khaleda that they would be on the street this time with full strength.
With many BNP leaders staying out of sight to avoid arrest in different cases, Khaleda Zia has also held a series of meetings with senior leaders of the party.
Party insiders said if the party chairperson was barred from holding a rally on January 5, she would start to move towards the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters from her Gulshan residence.
“Government might impose section 144 in the capital like Gazipur to foil the rally. But this time, we will not backtrack from the movement. Our leaders and activists will face it while remaining on the streets,” a senior BNP leader, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka tribune.
The party’s front and associate bodies have already been asked to take all-out preparations to make the upcoming programme successful, while sources said the government’s failure to give permission for the rally might prompt the party to call non-stop hartals from January 5 or 6, which would then be turned into a blockade programme.
However, the BNP may have to compromise their plans to sustain any long-term movement as the first phase of Bishwa Ijtema is scheduled to start from January 9.