The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the partners in the coordinated anti-government movement on Friday in Dhaka city announced that they would hold countrywide mass sits-in for four hours on January 11 to press for the resignation of the Awami League government and the restoration of the caretaker government system.
The parties announced the fresh event before starting their scheduled mass processions in the capital city, their first demonstration under the simultaneous anti-government movement, to mark the fourth anniversary of the 11th parliamentary polls that earned huge local and international criticism.
The BNP and more than 30 political parties, most of them under three alliances, brought out separate processions at various places of the capital in their own capacities.
Thousands of leaders and activists participated in the BNP mass procession while other parties and alliances brought out processions with a hundreds of participants each.
BNP leaders and activists gathered for the party’s procession by noon while the party’s demonstration was scheduled after Jumma prayer. By 2:00pm, the roads near the party’s Naya Paltan central office — from the Kakrial crssing to the Notordem College and Fakirapul crossing to the Dainik Bangla crossing — were packed with party leaders and activists.
Before starting its mass procession, in a brief rally in front of the party central office, BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain requested the party people to end the mass procession peacefully.
He said that the gathering for the mass procession turned into a sea of people as tens of thousands of party leaders and activists took to the streets for the fulfilment of the party’s 10 points.
‘This government will be ousted through a mass upsurge. It will not be possible to stop our movement by resorting to attacks,’ he said.
Announcing the mass sit-in programme, he requested other opposition parties that are participating in the simultaneous movement to organise mass sits-in according to their capacity.
The BNP, he said, will stage a four-hour sit-in protest on January 11 in all the divisional headquarters, including Dhaka, from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
After the announcement, the main opposition BNP started its mass procession that was huge in size, the like of which was not seen in recent times.
The procession ended at the Mogbazar crossing, which had marched through the Kakrail intersection and Shantinagar and Malibagh areas.
The Ganatantra Mancha, an alliance of seven parties, brought out its mass procession from in front of the National Press Club and ended at Bijaynagar.
Before starting its procession, the alliance announced that it would too hold mass sits-in in divisional cities around the country on January 11 to press home its 14-point demands.
The Ganatantra Mancha comprises Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Nagarik Oikya, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, Ganosamhati Andolan, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bhashani Onusari Parishad and Rastra Sanskar Andolan.
Leaders and activists of the recently floated 12-party alliance, led by Bangladesh Kallyan Party chairman Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, took out its mass procession from Bijoynagar.
The 12 parties constituting the combine are Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar), Bangladesh Kallyan Party, Bangladesh Labour Party, Bangladesh Jatiya Dal, National Democratic Party, a faction of Liberal Democratic Party, Muslim League, a faction of Jamiyat Ulamaye Islam, a faction of Islami Oikkya Jote, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Islamic Party, and Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal.
The mass procession brought out by the coalition of 11 political parties, named Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, led by National People’s Party chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad, marched round the Shapla Square and on roads at Motijheel.
The 11 parties of the combine are National People’s Party-NPP, Jagpa (Khandkar Lutfur), Democratic League (DL), Bangladesh NAP, Bikalpa Dhara (Nurul Amin), Samyabadi Dal, Gano Dal, NAP-Bhashani, Islami Oikya Jote, People’s League and Bangladesh Minority Janata Party.
Oli Ahmed-led Liberal Democratic Party brought out its mass procession from the front of its office near the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation beside Karwanbazar and the procession marched around Mailbag area.
While the BNP is saying that the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is not included in the simultaneous movement, the party separately took out two mass processions in the city’s Mouchak-Malibagh and Purana Paltan areas.
Jamaat activists got locked in a clash with the police when members of the law enforcement agency tried to stop a procession brought out by the party in Malibagh area in the afternoon.
Witnesses said that Jamaat members brought out the procession from near Abul Hotel after Jumma prayers and when it reached the Malibagh crossing the police intercepted it, leading to a clash at about 2:00pm.
Witnesses further said that the police charged batons and lobbed teargas shells on Jamaat activists who also threw brickbats at police.
Besides, in a separate initiative, leaders of various left-leaning political parties that formed the Left Democratic Alliance on the day held a protest rally in the capital to drum up support for waging a movement against the government for the restoration of democracy and democratic rule in the country.
The Left Democratic Alliance, a combine of six left political parties, including Jatiya Mukti Council and Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, held rallies in front of the National Press Club protesting against the farcical general elections held on December 30 in 2018.
On December 10, the BNP at its Dhaka divisional mass rally announced 10-polint demands.
The 10 points include abolishing the current ‘unelected illegal’ parliament and the resignation of the AL government, forming an impartial election-time caretaker government, setting up a new Election Commission and stopping the use of electronic voting machines in all elections.
Among the party’s other demands is the cancellation of all sentences against opposition party leaders, journalists and intellectuals, including Khaleda Zia, as well as an immediate release of political prisoners.
The demands of other parties and alliances are similar as they all ask for the resignation of the AL government and the creation of an election-time caretaker or supervisory government.
The BNP also announced a massive state reform package and the establishment of a ‘rainbow nation’ with the participation of people from all communities.
