Bangladesh Army dismisses Hasnat's Facebook post as 'hilarious and immature stories': Netra News
Army says the meeting occurred at the request of Hasnat and Sarjis Alam, who had long sought a "courtesy meeting" with General Waker-uz-Zaman
The Bangladesh Army has denied allegations made by Hasnat Abdullah, chief organiser (south) of the National Citizen Party (NCP), where he claimed senior military officials pressured him and two others to accept a so-called "refined" faction of the Awami League (AL), reports Netra News.
In a statement shared with Netra News, the Army Headquarters confirmed that the chief of army staff, General Waker-uz-Zaman, met Hasnat and Sarjis Alam, chief organiser (north) of NCP, on 11 March in Dhaka Cantonment.
However, the army described Hasnat's assertions as "hilarious and an immature array of stories." It also called Hasnat's post as "nothing but a complete political stunt".
The Netra News article published today (23 March) comes two days after Hasnat's Facebook post on an alleged attempt to rehabilitate the fallen AL, which involves the cantonment, went viral and sparked protests.
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In his post, Hasnat alleged that, during a meeting at the Cantonment on 11 March, they were offered seat sharings in exchange for accepting a proposal to revive what he described as a "Refined Awami League," which he said is "entirely India's plan."
Later, Hasnat posted a short video of an interview in which Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan claimed that the army chief was hesitant about appointing Muhammad Yunus as the interim government's chief adviser after the AL fell in the mass uprising in August last year.
Asif later published the full 17-minute-long interview on his Facebook page.
Quoting the army statement, the Netra News report today said the meeting between the army chief and the NCP leaders was not "a matter of summoning them and proposing or pressuring them about the rehabilitation of the Awami League."
Instead, the army said the meeting occurred at the request of Hasnat and Sarjis, who had long sought a "courtesy meeting" with General Waker.
The army further clarified that "Sarjis Alam phoned the military adviser to the army chief to arrange the meeting and was asked to come to Army Headquarters." But the duo went to Sena Bhaban, the army chief's official residence, and waited. General Waker met them after completing his official duties.
The Netra News report said it was unable to verify what was discussed during the meeting. But it quoted a senior army officer reconfirming that the meeting's initiative was taken by Hasnat and Sajis
Whether Hasnat and Sarjis had the consent of the NCP to request the meeting or acted on their own is still unclear.
Meanwhile, NCP Member Secretary Nasiruddin Patwari publicly criticised Hasnat's Facebook post yesterday (22 March), calling it "lacking courtesy."
However, both Hasnat and Sarjis, as well as Nasiruddin, have since maintained that they do not harbour any animosity towards the army or its leadership.
In his Facebook post, Hasnat had written, "Let us unite against the Awami League… If the Awami League returns to politics, July [2024 uprising] will be a failure. As long as there is a single drop of blood in our veins, we will not let the blood of our martyrs go to waste.
"After 5 August, there will be no opportunity for the Awami League to come back to Bangladesh…The Awami League must be banned, once and for all."
He mentioned the date 11 March and wrote, "A few days ago, I mentioned that there was a plan to introduce a new conspiracy called the 'Refined Awami League.' This plan is entirely India's. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Shirin Sharmin, and Tapash are being put forward in this plan."
"On 11 March, at 2:30pm, this plan was presented to me and two others at the Cantonment. We were given a proposal that in exchange for seat sharing, we should accept this offer. We were told that multiple political parties had already been offered this proposal — and, under certain conditions, they had agreed to the rehabilitation of the Awami League.
"It was suggested that having multiple opposition parties alongside a weak Awami League would be better than just one opposition party. As a result, over the past two days, you will notice that many politicians in the media have begun giving statements in favour of the Awami League," Hasnat claimed.
According to Netra News, the Army Headquarters acknowledged that the topic of AL's rehabilitation did come up during the meeting, but General Wakar merely offered his personal opinion.
"If Awami League leaders without criminal cases or questionable reputations formed a new version of the Awami League and contested the forthcoming election, it would likely result in a more credible, competitive and fruitful outcome, and might bolster international acceptance," Netra News quoted Army Headquarters as saying.
The army statement also said General Waker had offered his opinion that AL leaders not facing criminal charges should be included in the political process, noting that he regarded the young activists "like his sons."
"In reality, this is by no means a matter of summoning them and proposing or pressuring them about the rehabilitation of the Awami League," the statement said, according to Netra News.
