« Israel: Three Britons Kidnapped In Gaza Strip |
| Russia: Suicide Bombing Near Dagestan Mosque »
December 28, 2005
Bangladesh: Islamist Party Tries to Allay Suspicions That It Supports Terrorism
Earlier today, a large rally was held in Paltan Maidan in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, by the party Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat is one of the four parties in the coalition government, and as we reported earlier and yesterday, it has been accused of links with the Islamic terrorists who have been subjecting the nation to fear of bomb attacks. The rally was ostensibly a protest against "bomb terrorism, violence and anarchy".
The Bangladesh Independent and the Daily Star both report on the rally and the speeches made.
The Star writes:
The Jamaat leaders also pointed fingers at a neighbouring country for its involvement in recent bomb blasts and other terrorist activities in the country.The "neighbouring country" is almost certainly India, which the leader of Jamaat, Motiur Rahman Nizami, as we wrote yesterday, blamed for the national bombing campaign of August 17.The recent series of suicide bombings in the name of Islam is part of a conspiracy of the AL (the Awami League, the leading opposition party) to break the ruling coalition and tarnish the image of the Islamic parties including Jamaat, they alleged.
Denying any links with the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the Jamaat leaders said JMB is a creation of the AL as General Secretary of Awami Jubo League Mirza Azam is a close relation of the JMB chief.
When Nizami appeared on the podium (right) he described the members of JMB thus: "Most of them are half-educated or illiterate, and even an insane person will not believe that Islamic rule could be established by them."
On the issue of JMB's bombing campaign, Nizami said: "They are using the name of Islam to destroy the religion and Islamic movement and are misleading the people." He said that Islam never supported terrorism or bombing, and said that it took time to establish Islamic rule in a country.
The claims of Jamaat against the Awami League are as nothing, compared to those uttered by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), who was speaking at a meeting held at Sonapatil Mohila College. The Bangladesh Independent says that while referring to "a party", but obviously meaning the Awami League:
As people did not respond to their movement, the BNP chairperson said, the party in the name of movement indulged in destructive action - unleashed terrorism and killed people burning alive by setting fire on passenger buses and trains.The personal animosity between Khaleda Zia and her female opponent in charge of the AL, Sheikh Hasina, has started to resemble a Dynasty script, made worse when Zia recently hinted that she had a mind to have Hasina charged for sedition."This is a terrorist party," the Prime Minister told her audience and urged people to remain alert about that party.
The threat becomes ominous when one learns that on Tuesday, a new anti-terror law has been finalised in its draft form, and will be sent to cabinet on 2 January. There is a new clause specifically for sedition in the bill, in which penalties for terrorist activities include the death sentence.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 28, 2005 10:25 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)