Mirza Abbas, a member of the BNP’s Standing Committee, has remarked that Bangladesh has effectively become a kind of colonial regime.
He made this statement on Monday while speaking as the chief guest at a memorial discussion held at the National Press Club in honour of former MP Nasir Uddin Pintu.
Mirza Abbas said: “There are many advisers in the current government who are not even citizens of Bangladesh, yet they are the ones running the country. Attempts are being made to divert attention from this. Are we under colonial rule? We are not governed by our people, we are under colonial control.”
Claiming that the overall state of the country is not good, he added: “Are we living in a subjugated state? Why am I not allowed to visit St Martin’s, Sajek, or Baghaichhari? We fought a war to free this country, not to sell it off. The country is not in a good place. Now we hear talk of a ‘humanitarian corridor’. Whose interest does that serve?”
He continued: “There is no such term as ‘humanitarian corridor’ in any dictionary in the world. Is the government importing new terms now? It should be the people of Bangladesh and their elected representatives who decide whether such a corridor is acceptable.”
He further stated: “The number of suspicious foreign individuals entering the country has increased. Various new missions are being launched. The government is deliberately carrying out all sorts of wrongdoing. It is serving someone else’s agenda; this is not a patriotic government.”
On the issue of Rohingya repatriation, the BNP leader said: “It was only president Ziaur Rahman who once forced Myanmar to take back the Rohingya. Only the BNP can save Bangladesh from foreign influence.”
Commenting on recent protests in Shahbagh calling for a ban on the Awami League, he said: “The drama at Shahbagh went on for several days. How is it that the ruling administration’s affiliate, the NCP, can organize protests in areas where gatherings are usually banned? And what are they even protesting for?”
He pointed out that over 15 years, the BNP faced the most persecution at the hands of the Awami League.
“The critics keep attacking the BNP in various ways. They claim the BNP is trying to rehabilitate the Awami League. Why would we do that? For 15 years, we suffered under their oppression, separated from our families, aged due to their persecution… why would we rehabilitate them?”
