People may rise up again if democratic transition delayed, BNP’s Moyeen warns

BNP senior leader Abdul Moyeen Khan today warned that if the transition to democracy is delayed further, the people of Bangladesh will rise up again.

"I urge the interim government, you please, do not prolong the path to democratic transition. If you do, the people of Bangladesh will rise again," he said while addressing a discussion organised by the Revolutionary Workers Party, titled "Looking Back at Bloody July–August: Expectations and Realities" at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity auditorium.

Moyeen, a member of the BNP Standing Committee, further said the people of Bangladesh fought for independence in 1971 because they knew democracy could never flourish under Pakistan's rule.

He reminded the government that the people and pro-democracy political parties of Bangladesh have been struggling for the past fifteen to sixteen years to restore democracy.

"Has that expectation been fulfilled? No… not even in the past one year. Why not? We have seen examples in the past where fair and neutral elections were held within 90 days. We have that precedent right before our eyes."

Moyeen questioned why, even after one full year, the country has not been able to move forward in its democratic transition.

"I often fear whether this new arrangement may turn into a permanent one. We want change, but not all change is true change. Back in 1/11, we saw banners and festoons across Dhaka calling to change everything, to overhaul everything. But not everything in the world can or should be changed."

The BNP leader said when many people talk about change it should not be changed for the sake of change.

"When we talk about reforms, I say reforms must not be superficial. Cosmetic changes will not change the fate of 180 million people. You may amend a few lines of the Constitution—or even rewrite the whole document—but it won't matter unless the hearts of the people who run this country change," he observed.