BNP says no to proportional election system

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that "the people will decide" whether the Awami League will retain its registration as a political party, reports bdnews24.com.

He stated his party's stance on the matter in response to a question during at a media briefing at the BNP Chairperson's Office in Dhaka's Gulshan on Thursday.

Fakhrul said, "I say that the people will decide. We have said time and again that we are a liberal democratic party. We believe in democracy, in all of its norms and conditions and we practice it."

"We have kept saying that it is not up to us to decide which party will be banned, will be allowed to remain active, or not ... the people will decide."

The BNP leader also noted the party's objection to the local government polls before the 13th parliamentary election.

"We don't agree with holding local government elections before the national election. This is nothing but a plan to put the country in a more precarious state from all political considerations. The sooner the general election is held, the easier politics will be, and the more stability the country's people will have."

"We are also totally against [proportional representation]. We will not support any proportional election system because people aren't used to it."

Expressing his view that Sheikh Hasina now proved to be a "fascist", he expressed hope that the Indian government would now extradite her to Bangladesh soon so she can face trial.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir shared his party's view while answering questions regarding the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights on the day.

"I want to thank the UN fact-finding committee that visited Bangladesh for their report. They have stated correctly that one in particular -- the fascist Sheikh Hasina -- ordered all the killings," he said.

"The mass killing and all incidents of human rights violations were ordered by her. Democracy was destroyed, institutions were destroyed…. the report says that everything was done following her directives."

Since she was toppled by the mass uprising on Aug 5, the former prime minister has been in India. The International Crimes Tribunal has issued an arrest warrant against her for charges of "genocide".

The interim government has requested India to extradite Hasina under the treaty between the two countries. However, India has yet to respond.

"It has been proven that Sheikh Hasina is a fascist and she tortured the people of Bangladesh. We want the Indian government to immediately extradite her to the Bangladesh government and for her to be tried. She and her aides will face trial. This is our hope."

The UN OHCHR issued a report documenting human rights violations in Bangladesh between Jul 1, 2024, and Aug 15, 2024 on Wednesday, with the agency's chief Volker Türk presenting key findings at a media briefing in Geneva.

Multiple killings, attacks on the student-led public movement and other major raids were carried out with the full knowledge, coordination, and orders from Hasina, the report said.

"We are relieved that the report has been published. The truth has been unveiled. The problem is that we believe something only when the UN says it. No one believes what the political parties say. Anyway, I thank the UN observer team that visited us," said Fakhrul.

An FE report adds: After a UN fact-finding report implicates ousted premier Sheikh Hasina in acts of human-rights violations, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry now looks forward to a "political decision" to send a reminder to the Indian government for extraditing her.

Bangladesh sent a note verbal to India recently for sending back Hasina, against whom several cases have been filed in connection with the killings and atrocities carried out by her government during the July-August upsurge that unseated her.

"But India has yet to respond to the Bangladesh request," a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Rafiqul Alam, told a media briefing Thursday.

Responding to a question whether the ministry will send a copy of the UN fact-finding mission's report which says that the former PM was involved in human-rights violations, he said the report was made public and "there is no reason to believe that it was unavailable to the Indian government".

He also said that 'relevant papers' were attached with the note verbal sent to Delhi for extraditing Hasina, who has been in refuge since being unseated.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com