They will be honoured as 'war heroes'

People who were getting maimed at the hands of "government agencies" during the ongoing blockade would be honoured as "freedom fighters of this generation" once BNP came to power, the party announced yesterday.

The BNP in a statement also said it would honour those, who were getting killed "by the hands of the government", as "national heroes".

"We are announcing today that family members and issues of those deceased will be given due compensation and rehabilitated as well. And those who are being maimed by different attacks will be given due compensation and will also be rehabilitated. All of them will be acknowledged as the freedom fighters of this generation," the statement read.

Asked, two senior BNP leaders who are also freedom fighters, refused to make any comment on the issue.

Speaking anonymously, a senior BNP leader said freedom fighters and the general public might not take such an announcement positively.

Dr MA Hasan, a freedom fighter, researcher of war crimes of 1971 and convener of the War Crimes Facts Finding Committee, Bangladesh, said it was nothing but an attempt to politicise the Liberation War.

"This is the work of those who have been engaged in making the Liberation War controversial for long. They did not show any respect to people, who died during the movement. They have rather encouraged criminals by showing sympathy only to their political activists," he observed.

"They have issued such a statement intentionally. They are devoid of the right path and have no knowledge of history," Hasan added.

The BNP statement, undersigned by Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed, claims the government has failed to get sympathy and recognition of international community and its fall is only a "matter of time" now.

"The illegal government which begged door to door of the international community with a view to getting recognition and sympathy has finally been refused and now awaits a serious fall," it read.

The statement also said the government had "failed" to brand before the international community the current political crisis created from a controversial, voter-less and farcical election as a militancy-related problem.

The BNP leader in the statement alleged law enforcers had cooked up a crossfire story after "killing" student leader Tipu and Jasas leader Kabir Hossain at Agoirjhola in Barisal.

Salahuddin warned that those who were responsible for killings would be tried in proper courts including the international crimes tribunal after the change of power.

BNP FORMER MPs OF 8TH SANGSAD

As many as 179 former MPs of BNP of the eighth parliament in a joint statement yesterday called upon Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to sit in dialogue to resolve the ongoing political impasse.

"Resignation of Sheikh Hasina is the only path to resolve the ongoing crisis. Choose the path of your safe exit through discussion with the BNP chairperson immediately and save the nation from a great crisis," said the statement undersigned by BNP leader Zainul Abdin Farroque.