BNP expects India to respect BD's democratic aspirations

Denouncing the attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday expected Indians would respect the democratic aspirations of the citizens of new Bangladesh, reports UNB.

"We rxpress the hope Indians would respect the democratic aspirations of the citizens of the new Bangladesh and help the trial of the Awami League fascist leaders who stay in India by sending them back (to Bangladesh)," he said in a statement.

Fakhrul said they strongly condemn the attack by extremists on the premises of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission at North Agartala in India.

"It is believed the attack on the premises of the Assistant High Commission by the members of the organisation named "Hindu Sangha Samiti" was pre-planned," he said.

Taking down the Bangladesh flag, setting it on fire and carrying out vandalism after entering the Assistant High Commission is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, said the BNP Secretary General.

"We would request the Government of India and the people of India that the use of hatred in Bangladesh as a tactic of your domestic politics will create lasting tension in the relationship between the two countries," Fakhrul added.

On the other hand, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Tuesday urged the interim government to seek assistance from the UN peacekeeping force to ensure the security for the staff of Bangladesh's diplomatic missions in India as they failed to provide security for them.

"The officials and employees of the Bangladesh missions are suffering from a sense of insecurity.

In this situation, the Bangladesh government should seek assistance from the UN peacekeeping force and take measures for the security of our people there," he said.

He made the call at a press conference in the BNP central office in Nayapaltan, while talking about the recent attack on Bangladesh Assistant High Commission at Agartala, India.

Rizvi said being instigated by the BJP government, the extremist terrorists carried out the brutal attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Kunjaban, Agartala amid the silent presence of the members of the law enforcement agencies.

They tore down the national flag, set it on fire, vandalised the flagpole and damaged the property inside the assistant high commission, he said.

"This unprecedented attack on the diplomatic mission in Agartala is a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961," said the BNP leader.

Though the Indian government staged the drama to express regret for the attack, the instances of aggressive interference India did in Bangladesh's internal affairs in the past created further resentment (in Bangladesh), he added.

"We would like to tell the extremist Hindus of India, your friendship is with Sheikh Hasina. The open hostility you have shown against the people of Bangladesh to protect that friendship is not a good neighbourly behavior," he added.

Rizvi said their (Indians') friend Hasina got shelter there in India after killing thousands of people (in Bangladesh). "Be satisfied with her (giving her shelter). Remember, Bangladesh became independent at the cost of millions of lives, not to be a slave to Delhi. The slave who wanted to be a servant is now on your feet," he said.

The BNP leader claimed that the Indian BJP government and extremists have gone madder than Hasina after she lost power and was ousted. They are desperately spreading propaganda, he alleged.