Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Saturday said the Awami League, which he described as a “fascist force” ousted from power, would not be allowed to resume political activities in Bangladesh.
“We have heard that various leaders of the ousted Awami League are holding regular Zoom meetings and telling their activists that the ousted fascist, autocratic and mafia Sheikh Hasina will return in December. We want her to return,” he said.
“But, Inshallah, we will never allow the fascist forces to do politics on the soil of Bangladesh again,” he added.
The home minister was speaking as the chief guest at a rally organised by local BNP and its affiliated organisations at the Sadek Hossain Khoka Playground near Dholaikhal in the afternoon.
Salahuddin said those responsible for mass killings and firing on people during the previous government would not be pardoned and would have to face justice.
“The government is committed to ensuring that those responsible for enforced disappearances and killings over the past 17 years, those who committed crimes against humanity, and those who systematically killed democracy and ran a government without votes will never again be allowed to engage in politics,” he said.
He said the government had formally sought Sheikh Hasina’s return from India through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the existing extradition agreement, but New Delhi had yet to respond.
“We want her to return and face justice,” he said.
He added that those facing charges would be given the opportunity to appeal if they wished.
“The people of Bangladesh have judged them. If they seek an opportunity to appeal, they will be allowed to do so, and a fair trial will be ensured accordingly. Trials in this country have been conducted to international standards. Return and serve your sentence, or appeal if you have the opportunity,” he said.
“There is no point in raising voices. The people of Bangladesh have rejected this force,” Salahuddin said.
Warning to opposition
Addressing recent opposition programmes, the home minister criticised those announcing a one-point movement to bring down the government, saying it had been in office for only seven months.
“You are announcing a one-point movement when the government is seven months old. Do you think the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies will simply sit and watch?” he asked.
Salahuddin said the government was working to maintain stability, strengthen democracy and introduce constitutional reforms to prevent what he described as fascist and autocratic forces from returning to power.
He said the government had invited opposition parties to participate in the constitutional reform process, but they had instead taken to the streets and organised long marches in different parts of the country.
“You can hold long marches, but the people of Bangladesh have already taken a short decision. They will never again invite anti-independence forces to this country,” he said.
He said opposition parties were free to organise long marches but questioned the timing of such programmes, noting that the government had been in office for only six months.
“We usually saw intense movements against a government when it was nearing the end of its four-year term. But what failure of the government have you seen within six months that you have announced a long march against it?” he asked.
Fuel prices
Salahuddin also defended the government’s decision to increase fuel prices, saying opposition parties had highlighted rising commodity and fuel prices without adequately considering the global increase in fuel costs.
“Fuel prices have increased two or three times more than ours in many countries around the world, including our neighbouring country,” he said.
He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had initially refrained from increasing fuel prices for a month to ease pressure on consumers, contain commodity prices and protect farmers from additional costs.
Fuel prices were later raised by what the government considered the minimum amount necessary to keep them aligned with international prices and prevent cross-border smuggling, he said.
“After that, we saw stability in commodity prices. Even after that, because the Gulf War has not ended and fuel prices have been rising rapidly around the world, we have also had to increase them to some extent. The people have accepted it as a tolerable situation,” he said.
The minister apologised to the public for the hardship caused by the price increase.
“Our prime minister has repeatedly expressed regret for your suffering. Inshallah, if fuel prices fall in the international market, we will reduce fuel prices in this country proportionately. This is our commitment,” he said.
Call for unity
Salahuddin called for unity to protect democracy, independence and sovereignty and to ensure that the country’s democratic process continues without what he described as a return of fascism.
“Just as we united to bring down fascism, just as we fought and shed blood on the streets to bring down this fascist autocracy, we will remain united in the same way,” he said.
“We will remain united for the democratic struggle. We will continue the anti-fascist democratic process. We will remain on the streets, in the field, in parliament and among the people, Inshallah,” he added.
The minister said the country was now in a post-uprising period and that the government was operating amid high public expectations.
“It has been seven months since we took responsibility for the government. The people are observing what we have been able to do in these seven months. They are also watching what plans we have for fulfilling public expectations in the days ahead,” he said.
He said the public was also closely observing the activities of opposition parties and the actions of Sheikh Hasina, whom he referred to as an ousted “fascist”, “autocrat” and “mafia” force, from India.
