What home adviser says on Army opening fire in Gopalganj

The army opened fire in Gopalganj in response to the prevailing situation, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said today (20 July).

Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Home Affairs following a core committee meeting on law and order and a special meeting on the law and order situation in Dhaka and surrounding areas, the adviser said, "The army fired in Gopalganj in light of the situation. At any given time, according to the situation, measures must be taken."

On the curfew in Gopalganj, he said, "Section 144 will gradually be lifted. If someone commits a wrong, they will be arrested. I have only said one thing: under no circumstances should miscreants be released. And those who have not committed a crime should not be arrested. Mass arrests are not happening in Gopalganj. Those who have committed wrongs are being arrested."

At the beginning of the briefing, the adviser said, "Today we heard from the members of the law enforcement agencies how they are working, what the situation was like before, and what the situation is like now. They gave feedback, they said that since they took charge, the current law and order situation has improved a lot. Now, whether the law and order situation has improved or not, you [the media] can tell."

Regarding the incident in Gopalganj, he said, "I am not denying that the incident happened. This is politics. When doing politics, many things sometimes... when we also did [politics] before, many kinds of incidents happened in universities. Whether action is being taken after the incidents, that is our point, whether we are able to take action."

Asked whether the current law enforcement agencies would be able to conduct a fair election, he said, "Why would this law enforcement agency not be able to conduct a fair election? The law enforcement agency is prepared. There is still a lot of time left. We are prepared, our training is ongoing, we are providing training. We are making preparations. God willing, there will be no difficulty in conducting [the election]."

Responding to a question about the hartal, the adviser said, "A hartal was called by the Awami League. Tell me, did the hartal happen? It is true that two vehicles were burnt. Destruction [of property] occurred. During other hartals, this destruction was even greater. You will see whether we have been able to reduce [the damage] significantly from that."

When a journalist noted that no case had yet been filed regarding the deaths in Gopalganj, he replied, "Whether the police will file a case or not, a committee has been formed, and they will say."

Asked about a report that nine children had been detained in Gopalganj, the adviser said, "I do not have any such news."

After being informed of the media outlet that published the report, he added, "The beauty of democracy is to be able to express one's opinion freely. However, it must be in a polite language and with discipline."

When asked why his remarks appeared similar to past statements by the Awami League, the adviser smiled but did not respond before leaving the briefing.