‘AL won’t be allowed to hold protests’

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has said the Awami League will not be allowed to demonstrate until it apologises and its leadership faces trial for the killings during the July uprising.
He made the comments yesterday, a day after the AL announced on Facebook that it would begin from February 1 a nine-day programme that includes hartals and blockades in protest at what it said were rising prices of essentials, deteriorating law and order, and killings of leaders and activists.
"Does any leader or worker of the Awami League regret committing genocide? Had they begged pardon? You saw 71 children get killed and shots fired at them from helicopters. Has anyone repented or apologised for this?" Shafiqul Alam told a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy.
"Have Awami League men said, 'We do not support the killings carried out by Hasina'? We want leadership with a clean image. I don't see it. Rather, many are lying and spreading rumors and propaganda," he said.
Shafiqul also wrote on Facebook, "Unless AL apologises for these massacres, killings and blatant corruption and until its tainted leaders and activists submit to justice system and they are purged and tried over their crimes -- and until AL separates itself from its current leadership and its Fascist ideology, there is no way it will be allowed to hold protests."
The interim government will not allow any attempt to push the country towards violence, he wrote.
"Since it took over in early August, the Interim Government has not stopped or banned any lawful protests. We believe in freedom of assembly and freedom of association. One report this morning said at least 136 protests took place alone in Dhaka in the past five and a half months. Some of these protests triggered massive traffic congestion. Yet, the IG [inspector general of police] has never imposed any restrictions on the protests.
"But should we allow the Fascist Awami League party to hold protests? The video footage of July and August clearly show that AL party activists took part in the killings of peaceful protesters who included young students and minor children. The party leadership headed by Sheikh Hasina is responsible for the massacres, murders and mayhem during the July mass uprising."
He further said, Hasina established a kleptocracy and murderous regime. Under her watch, 234 billion dollars were siphoned off by her cronies, according to an independent panel. Her family is now being investigated for making billions of dollars from corrupt deals, he wrote.
He added that no country allowed a bunch of killers and corrupt gangs to make a comeback. "No country allows a reset without accountability. The interim government represents the will of the Bangladeshi people who will react to the protest by the killers. We will not allow any attempts to push the country into violence. Anyone [who] dares to hold illegal protests under the AL banner will face the full power of the law."
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