The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday requested the United Nations to conduct an international-level investigation into the massacre that occurred during the recent student-people protest under the banner of the Student Movement Against Discrimination.
The party made the request through a letter submitted to the UN office in Dhaka’s Gulshan area.
On behalf of the BNP, its standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and organising secretary Shama Obaid handed over the letter to the UN representative.
After submitting the letter to the UN, Amir Khasru told reporters that the party wanted an impartial investigation into the killings during the protests.Â
‘Our request is for an impartial and independent international investigation into the killings of Bangladeshi citizens under the illegal Awani League government,’ he said.
He said that they had urged the UN to uncover the massacres and murders that had marred Bangladesh’s political history.
‘To cleanse the nation of this stigma, the atrocities committed on government orders must be exposed both domestically and internationally. No one should ever again dare to kill the people of this country or seize power by force,’ he said.
He said that the people of Bangladesh had requested a transparent, impartial, and acceptable investigation.
At the same time, Khasru requested the interim government allow the UN to conduct this inquiry, adding that at this critical juncture, such an investigation was what the nation needed.
‘This inquiry will focus on genocide. The government-sponsored atrocities require an impartial investigation of international standards. It is not in conflict with our country’s legal system. We are slowly regaining the rule of law, which was absent earlier,’ he said.
Khasru observed that the actions taken against the quota movement were condemned globally, with widespread protests against them.
Speaking separately at Saidpur in Nilphamari, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir observed a deep conspiracy against the country following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina through a mass uprising.
‘The conspirators are carrying out planned attacks on Hindu community members to destabilise the country. Now, the BNP leaders and activists should take it upon themselves to safeguard the lives and property of Hindus,’ he said.
He reached there by air before travelling to his home town, Thakurgaon, by road.
He delivered a short speech to Shaheed Sarani of the town, while BNP men on hundreds of motorcycles escorted him along the way.
Fakhrul urged the people to remain peaceful and avoid violence as well as vengeance.
‘Despite being sick, Madam [BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia] instructed us against vengeance and retaliation. We will celebrate brotherhood and peace in Bangladesh. We will refrain from creating a situation that allows someone else to loot the victory,’ he said.
Over 500 people were killed in a July-August student-led uprising that ensured the fall of
Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party on August 5.
