PM blames BNP for grenade attack

Although Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday directly implicated the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the August 21 grenade attack aiming at killing her, the major opposition party on the same day described the attack on an Awami League rally during their party-led alliance government 12 years back as the most stigmatised and ‘worst barbaric’ incident in Bangladesh’s political history.
“The August 21 attack is the worst barbaric incident of killing in which 22 leaders and activists of a political party were killed.
It is also the most tainted incident in Bangladesh’s political history,” BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told a discussion in Dhaka yesterday.
Fakhrul paid homage to the victims of the gruesome incident,
including former President Zillur Rahman’s wife Ivy Rahman.
Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP), one of the components of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, arranged the programme at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), marking the seventh death anniversary of its ex-chairman Shawfikul Ghaani Swapan.
Bangladesh observed the 12th anniversary of the savage August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the capital with a heavy heart yesterday amid various programmes.
On this day in 2004, the grisly attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally arranged by Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue here, reportedly to kill then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina.
At least 24 leaders and activists, including AL’s women affairs secretary and late President Zillur Rahman’s wife Ivy Rahman, were killed and 300 others injured in the grenade attack.
However, Sheikh Hasina, the current prime minister, narrowly escaped the attack unhurt but her hearing was affected badly.
Fakhrul alleged that a conspiracy is on to turn Bangladesh into a militant and failed state by destroying democracy and snatching all the people’s rights.
To get rid of the current situation, he said there is no alternative to restoring democracy.
The BNP leader said now the government is suddenly talking about a mid-term election as part of its plot to weaken the nationalist and democratic forces.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday accused again the then BNP-Jamaat government of perpetrating the barbaric grenade attack on the Awami League rally in 2004, saying that though this grisly attack jolted world conscience, the conscience of the BNP leader or her party was not stirred in this incident.
“We were not allowed to utter a single word or discuss the matter in parliament. Even we were barred from bringing any motion in the parliament to condemn the attack.
So it’s clear who were involved in this incident and there is no need to prove it by showing a finger,” she said.
In this connection, Sheikh Hasina referred to some remarks of Khaleda Zia and her party leaders and her son Tarique Zia staying in his father-in-law’s residence on Dhanmondi road No 5 in the capital before the grisly grenade attack.
“Begum Zia had said that I would never be the prime minister or even the leader of the opposition in future, while her elder son stayed at his father-in-law’s residence in Dhanmondi for 8-10 months consecutively,” she said, posing a question if Tarique Zia lived in Dhanmondi to hatch conspiracy against her.
“It seemed from the comments of the BNP leader and her party men that they wanted to remove me from this world,” she said.
The prime minister was speaking at a rally after placing wreaths at a makeshift memorial of martyrs of the gruesome grenade attack on August 21, 2004 at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka.
The memorial was set up by Bangladesh Awami League in front of its Bangabandhu Avenue central office where the militants lobbed 13 grenades on a peaceful rally of the party on this day in 2004.
The premier first placed a floral wreath at the memorial and then another, flanked by leaders of Awami League, as president of the party.
Holding the BNP government responsible for destroying the evidence of the grenade attack, Sheikh Hasina said the attackers left the scene under the cover of the law enforcement agencies and they destroyed the unexploded grenades and helped the grenade suppliers to leave Bangladesh.
“There were no activities of the policemen on that day, even our volunteers were barred from going to the rooftops of any surrounding buildings and none were allowed to create a security blanket,” the prime minister said and asked why the BNP-Jamaat government didn’t give such a permission.
Sheikh Hasina said any efforts were not seen to rescue the injured on Bangabandhu Avenue.
Instead, the policemen lobbed teargas and resorted to baton charge to disperse Awami League leaders and workers who came forward to the help of the injured, she said, adding the law enforcers also didn’t allow any vehicles near the scene.
“Why did the policemen resort to baton-charge and tear gas in this way? The aim of this was to allow the attackers to flee without any hindrance,”
she said.