A total of 154 teachers, artists, litterateurs and eminent citizens have expressed deep concern about attempts by domestic and international groups to disrupt the 12th national parliamentary election and create a constitutional crisis in the country.
They urged all citizens to continue the democratic process by confronting all kinds of abuse, as they have in the past. Prof Nisar Hossain, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, signed the statement on behalf of the eminent citizens.
The citizens lamented that 52 years after independence, the people of Bangladesh still have to fight against the forces defeated in the Liberation War. They mentioned in the statement that the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, countless brave members of the military who participated in the Liberation War, freedom fighters, and supporters of liberation were killed by these evil forces.
They said the defeated forces are still playing with the fate of the common people of this country.
Since the announcement of the schedule for the 12th national parliamentary election, the defeated Pakistani forces have continued their secret attacks, vandalism, and arson on people, public transportation, trains, etc, under the guise of strikes and blockades, the letter says.
The eminent citizens expressed apprehension that at a time when Bangladesh is moving towards economic self-sufficiency and coming out of dependence on foreign aid, collaborators of foreign forces are playing the “death game” of destroying the economy.
The statement warns that if these saboteurs succeed, Bangladesh could face the same fate as Iraq, Syria, Libya, or Afghanistan. They called on citizens to enthusiastically exercise their right to vote and play a role in forming the government of their choice to thwart this conspiracy.
