Business leaders who think recent arson attacks on garment factories were “politically instigated” Sunday urged the two major parties to stop violence and come up with a “compromise formula” so that they can continue their businesses smoothly.
They said the present political situation – continual shutdowns and blockades enforced by the main opposition BNP – had “halted” the economic activities in the country for the past few months. They also said the business community had lost interest in taking the two parties to a discussion table.
“Please, do your politics in a way that does not harm the country’s economy,” said Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Sunday, urging both the Awami League and the BNP.
If the present situation continued, the country’s economy would be destroyed, he said. The FBCCI reaction came following the arson attack on the Standard garment factory on Thursday night, in which valuables worth Tk1.2bn were claimed to have been destroyed.
Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said RMG factories were suffering for political violence, which was unacceptable.
The business community should not be the victim of political vengeance and the political leaders should solve the existing crisis through discussions among them, he said.
Atiqul said both the ruling and the opposition parties should reach a compromise formula for resolving the present political crisis.
Former FBCCI president Mir Nasir Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that the business community was getting more frustrated every day because of the vindictive attitudes of the two major political parties and that the present political crisis was leading the national economy towards uncertainty.
Businessmen had already lost the enthusiasm for taking the two political parties to a table for a dialogue, he said.
