A fitting response to Journalist Pir Habibur Rahman’s scathing attack on Begum Zia.

Yesterday I was reading an article written by a Bangladeshi journalist Pir Haibur Rahman. The title of his article captured my attention. I had always thought of him to be an impartial journalist, until having read his piece yesterday. I thought to myself how much money he had received from the Awami government to write such a scathing attack on Begum Zia; not once thinking who was to be blamed for Begum Zia’s agitation strategy. If I am fair on right and wrong quoting from history, I would say all the dirty politics and agitation programme that is worthy of giving founding awards would have to be given to the Awamileague. Awamileague had begun its life of independent Bangladesh with the killing democracy, suppressing opposition voice, killing people in the bus by lighting fire with gun powder full of people. Killing opposition activists of Jamat with Loghi Boita and dancing over their body. And most recently a horrendous crime was committed when unarmed saintly like people of Hifazot came to protest in Dhaka. They were surrounded by 3 pronged armed state police, Rabid Action Battalion, and Bangladesh Border Guards, and then the law enforcement agency turned off the street lights at about midnight when the protesters were peacefully sitting, reclining and chanting their religious praises on the street of Shapla Chottor. Then without warning, the police started firing at them massacring at least 66 of their men with impunity. It was a blood bath like of which we had not witnessed since independence.

This massacre was never investigated by any independent body set up by the government, but when Bangladesh independent Human Rights Organization Odhikar did their own investigation and came up with the number 66 killed, its secretary General Mr Adilur Rahman was arrested and put to jail. Now I want ask Mr Pir Habibur Rahman, has he ever thought of the criminal nature of Begums Zia’s opponent Sheikh Hasina. In a usual agitation in a democracy, the opposition is given the freedom to protest, rally, demonstrate, able to give out flyers in support of their cause, but in Bangladesh when Awami Government came to power; the opposition was treated like Afghan Taliban, and Al Qaida terrorist. Many times the Home Minister gave order to kill the opposition activists on contact, let alone allow them to do peaceful rally. During the last five years more than 300/400 opposition activists had been killed at the hand of state police, 40/50 thousand opposition supporters are put to jail and many hundreds have been made handicapped in the name of police remand. Prominent journalist and politician to this day are in Jail under false cases without bail, opposition Newspapers and TV station are banned.  Now tell me Mr. Pir Habib, If that is not state terrorism then what do you call terrorism, and who should be blamed for impeding normal agitation program? Surely Begum Zia could not be blamed for that. Tell your Awami friends to stop firing at opposition protesters then you will surely see the entire capital Dhaka swarmed with people and there will be nowhere for your tyrant Awami friends to hide.

When the government acts like terrorist, the people have a right to regain their freedom and peace by means of siege and blockade, and sudden attack so the government is made redundant to carry out its indiscriminate killings. If the opposition are shot at when they stand at the street to protest, then there is no other way other than to employ unconventional tactics while at the same times avoiding fatal deaths at the hand of government police.

When you write about our highest court and their judges, showing dismay at the arson attack at their empty houses by unknown miscreants, have you ever thought of their crimes when they collude with the government to sentence innocent men to their deaths, sending them to prison and police torture remand? Shame on your journalism when you can not see those injustices with your eyes and heart! Recent hanging of Bangladeshi Jamat leader Abdul Kadir Mollah is an example of judicial killings and injustices. Nobody disagrees with bringing to justice any known war criminals who have in reality killed and raped our brothers during our independence struggle, though it was a closed issue ordered by the countries founding father late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , but trying only one political party with concocted evidence and a flawed process with a  biased Tribunal judges, surely can not be right. If you really want to give sincere advice then I suggest you give that to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down immediately and meet 90 % of our people’s democratic demand for a free, fair and credible election under a neutral government. And please Mr  Habib, don’t teach us history and do not try to demonize Bangladeshi Jamati Islam and BNP’s alliance with them, for your friends Awami had made alliances with Jamat long before Begum Zia’s BNP. Bangladeshi Jamati Islam believes in democracy and democratic way of gaining power. Jamat is at the receiving end of Government oppression and torture, it is the Government of Sheikh Hasina that is killing their activists, putting them to Jail, and denying their basic right to do politics. So if anybody, it is Sheikh Hasina that should be scolded and not Begum Zia. BNP has done the right thing to be with the Mojlum (Victim of tyranny) it is in fact a duty to help those who are oppressed, and wrongly picked on. Bangladesh Jamati Islam is in a healthy alliance with Begums Zia’s BNP fighting for democratic rights of the people, saving the country from Indian hegemony and bullying. Our independence is at stake, and journalist like you should be supporting the cause rather than helping the tyrant Awami regime to lengthen their oppression on our people.