Declaration from historic grand rally

The biggest grand rally in the memorable history of the 14 party alliance was held on Sept. 18, 2006 at Dhaka. As a part of the continuing mass movement for reforms of the caretaker government and election commission, it was declared in the meeting that if the alliance government hands over power retaining Justice K.M Hasan as the Chief of the Caretaker government and Justice M.A Aziz as the Chief of the Election Commission then continuous programmes will be observed. The leader of the opposition in the parliament and the president of the Awami League Sheikh Hasina in her presidential address said that we want a free and fair election under neutral caretaker government as per provision of article 58 of the constitution. But KM Hasan by visiting shrine at comilla accompanied by the BNP District General Secretary and party candidate has lent support to our claim that he is not a neutral person. From the grand rally Sheikh Hasina announced the programme of seize of roads, railways and waterways on Sept. 20 and a dawn to dusk hartal (general strike) on Sept 21 and called upon the government to accept the reform proposals.

The Gonaforum president Dr. Kamal Hossain, Workers party president Rashed Khan Menon, JSD president Hasanual Huq Inu and leaders of Awami League and other parties addressed the grand rally.

To foil the grand rally the BNP-Jamat alliance government arrested thousands of Awami League leaders and workers as well as innocent people in Dhaka city and different districts right from a few days before the rally. Even on the day of rally the police and the party cadres of the government obstructed the transports coming to the rally from different districts. Inspite of these arrests and obstacles, lacs of people attended the grand rally. The rally was held in a situation when Bangladesh is passing through an intricate transitional period of its history. If the ongoing principal demands of reforms of caretaker government and Election Commission raised by the 14 party alliance are not resolved, the impending election itself will be uncertain as a result of the government uncompromising attitude.

For almost six months the question of dialogue between the government and the 14 party alliance has been hanging on. The government invited the main opposition Awami League, who were boycotting the parliament, to come to the parliament and raise their reform proposals. Six months ago the leader of the opposition and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina accordingly attended the parliament and formally raised the demand in the parliament on behalf of the opposition party. In reply the Prime Minister proposed for a dialogue on the proposal between both the parties.

At one stage of the exchanges of letters between the parties an impasse was created. The ruling party has not also replied to the last letter of the opposition party. Secondly, the businessmen community has proposed a formula for dialogue between two principal parties, Awami League and BNP, at the level of General Secretaries. The ruling party has not shown any positive attitude in this regard also. On the other hand the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in her recent various speeches in various recent public meetings has nullified any prospect for dialogue. By giving misleading statements that Awami League has been conspiring to foil election, she has shifted from her earlier stand for dialogue and understanding.

On the contrary Awami League has demanded explicitly for ensuring voting rights of people and for resolving political crisis through the free and fair election in constitutional way. But no blue print election under the BNP-Jamat alliance with Justice K M Hasan as the Chief Adviser of the Caretaker government and the present Election Commission under the leadership of Justice M A Aziz can be free, neutral and fair. The people of the country have doubt most reasonably about the updating of voter list. For all these reasons, it has been clearly stated from the opposition party that the people of the country will not accept any election without reforms.

To prove that Awami League is opposed to election, the government including the Prime Minister herself has been continuing unbridled falsehood and bad publicity. Terming the constitutional democratic movement for reform as ‘destructive’ or a ‘conspiracy to foil election’ the ruling party has taken the path of repression and oppression. Under the circumstances before the grand mass rally of 18th September a meeting of the Bangladesh Awami League Central Executive Committee adopted unanimously the following political resolutions on September 1, 2006.

Political resolution of the CEC of the Awami League

“A meeting of the Executive committee of the Bangladesh Awami League was held on September 1, 2006 chaired by its president Sheikh Hasina. The Executive committee expressed its deep concern at the prevailing critical political and socio-economic conditions in the country. This meeting observed with resentment that the alliance government at the fag end of their term had completed its preparations for an election engineering and a fraudulent and conspiratorial election like 2001 entente with a person who is alleged to have killed Zia and by withdrawing all the cases filed by them against him has inspired the corrupt people.

It was stated in the resolution that as a consequence of 5 years misgovernance, looting, corruption, killing and terrorism, politicization and specially, unbridled soaring prices of commodities, the puzzled poor and middle class people have been waiting to build graves for the mean and anti-national alliance government. Realizing this sentiment of the people, the ally of razakars and autocrats Khaleda Zia, though telling about dialogue but in reality leaving aside all courses of discussion or understanding, has updated the voters list according to their wishes through the disputed election commission in order to hold an election as per blue print.

In this voters list the names of unbelievable number of new voters have been enlisted in one hand and lacs of genuine voters have been left outside on the other hand. Indeed this incredible voters list, like the disputed election commission, is not acceptable to the people of the country.

In the resolution it was stated in unambiguous term that in the name of dialogue on reform proposals the government had been deceiving the people. The Prime Minister has been clearly telling that she or her government will not accept the reform proposals. The controversial former Chief Justice K. M. Hasan will be the Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government. Not only that, she has stated that there would not be any change in election commission and further she has unilaterally appointed another election commissioner.

This meeting disdainfully rejected the declaration of the Prime Minister in her speeches for holding election without reforms disregarding the wishes and expectations of the people with a motive to steal votes when the entire nation has been demanding a free, fair and neutral election. The meeting also voiced its strong condemnation and protest against this boastful statement.

In the political resolution of the executive committee it was stated that the Bangladesh Awami League thinks that the only way to avert political conflict and confrontation and to overcome the political crisis as per wishes of the people keeping the constitution high, is the implementation of reform proposals of the 14-party and ensusing a free, fair and neutral election. But the meeting observed with deep resentment. that the alliance government in order to grab power again through vote rigging is going to hold somehow an one-sided great farcical election like that of 15th February 1996.

The Executive Committee declared in unequivocal term that it would protect the voting right of the people at any cost by foiling all the conspiracies and plots of the BNP-Jamat alliance and that it would get the election to be held by implementing the reform proposals. The people of Bangladesh would not allow any blue print election to be held in this land.

Calling upon the government to show its good intention by accepting the proposal for re-organization of Care-taker government and election commission and reform of election system well ahead with a view to holding free and fair election, it was stated that the constitution of the Care-taker government and the re-constitution of the election commission have to be effected on the basis of consensus.

In the resolution a demand was made to update the voters list properly under a reconstituted election commission acceptable to all parties and to supply transparent ballot boxes to each election centre in the ensuing election. It was also demanded to cancel the amendment of article 155 of PRO done through an ordinance by the caretaker government and to restore the related rules of 1991 and 1996.

In the resolution a clarion call was made to the people of country to prevent the combined conspiracy of the newly grown autocrats, vanished autocrat and razakars and to help the ongoing movement of the 14 party for achieving voting rights of the people and a fair, free and neutral election through implementation of reform proposals.”

In fact on the basis of these resolutions adopted in the Bangladesh Awami League Executive Committee, decisions have been taken to advance the ongoing movement for reforms.

The Executive Committee adopted some other resolutions on Fulbari killing, about confirmation of death sentence of six militant leaders from High Court and on price hike etc.

Newsletter _______________________
Vol-5, No-6, September 21, 2006
Bangladesh Awami League Publication