AL only announced election schedule to pacify party leaders: 12-party alliance
The Awami League will postpone the election as soon as the nomination trade is over, said 12-party alliance leaders during a brief rally after a protest march in support of the 48-hour blockade on Sunday afternoon.
The 12-party alliance has claimed that the government only announced the election schedule to pacify the frightened leaders and activists of the Awami League in the face of national and international pressure for a fair election.
The Awami League will postpone the election as soon as the nomination trade is over, said 12-party alliance leaders during a brief rally after a protest march in support of the 48-hour blockade on Sunday afternoon.
The procession started from the Press Club and ended at Vijay Nagar after passing through Paltan.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Shahadat Hossain Salim, spokesman of the alliance, said, "I can see all the signs of a famine approaching. The high prices in the commodity market has become insufferable for the common man. People are living in starvation-semi-starvation and the government is trying to hold a bogus election without thinking about people's welfare."
Rashed Pradhan, chief convenor of the alliance, said "The government has taken the people of the country as hostages and is playing the game of elections with heroes, heroines and singers. This government is conspiring to hand over our sovereignty to exploitative foreigners. The recent diplomatic statements of Russia and India are dangerous for the sovereignty of Bangladesh."
Russia has claimed that the US Ambassador Peter Haas is interfering in Bangladesh's internal political affairs which has been denied by a US State Department claiming that the US supports free and fair elections and will continue to engage with government, opposition, civil society and others.
On 22 November Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed in an embassy brief that US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas had met with a high-ranking representative of the local opposition at the end of October and reportedly discussed plans to organise mass anti-government protests.
The Russian spokeswoman also claimed that the American ambassador promised information support in the event that the authorities used force against participants in "peaceful demonstrations", and that these assurances were purportedly made on behalf of the embassies of the United States, Britain, Australia and several other countries.
