Bangladesh: BNP accuses Jamaat of erasing Liberation War memories

Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday accused the radical Islamist Party Jamaat-e-Islami of attempting to erase the memories of sacrifices made during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War from the public mind through various means. Jamaat, it claimed, is also using the Proportional Representation (PR) system to delay the upcoming general elections, local media reported.

“The people of the country do not understand the PR system. It is necessary to hold national elections under the existing system,” Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Jugantor quoted BNP Standing Committee member Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed as saying at a discussion titled ‘Anniversary of the People’s Uprising: Speedy Trial, Fundamental Reforms and National Parliament Elections’ held at the National Press Club in Dhaka.

The BNP leader also said that people are surprised to hear various statements made by Jamaat.

Raising concerns about the upcoming national elections, he said, “There are concerns about holding peaceful elections with this police force that has not undergone even minimal reforms in a year”.

Last week, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed had expressed regret that a certain political party, which opposed Bangladesh’s Liberation War, is trying to claim that the nation made a mistake in 1971.

“Nowhere in the world’s history have unelected people changed a constitution. How can they even think of changing the constitution we built with our blood in 1972? They want to throw that away. A political party that opposed the Liberation War now wants to say that the nation made a mistake in 1971 and it was a stray nation,” the BNP leader said without naming Jamaat.

Earlier this year, Hafiz Uddin expressed disappointment over Jamaat’s stance regarding its role during the Liberation War, accusing the party of trying to defend its actions in 1971 instead of offering an apology to the public.

Radical outfits like Jamaat aligned with Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, and many of its leaders were involved in several war crimes.

After assuming power last year, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus lifted the ban on Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, through a gazette notification.

In June, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court restored Jamaat’s registration, thus paving the way for its participation in the next general elections.

The BNP and these radical Islamist forces earlier worked hand-in-glove with the student leaders and Yunus to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Awami League led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The unceremonious exit of Hasina was globally seen as a major setback to the democratic set-up in the country. The interim government has also received massive criticism for providing shelter to radical and extremist Islamic outfits.

IANS