Foreigners' talking about Bangladesh's democracy is not meddling with internal affairs: BNP's Moyeen Khan

Foreigners' talking about the state of democracy in Bangladesh is not interfering with the country's internal affairs, said Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee Member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan said yesterday.

"Democracy is universal, it has no specific geographical boundaries. If someone from another country speaks for democracy in Bangladesh, it is not meddling in internal affairs. Citizens of all countries of the world have the right to speak, to question democracy. If democracy is destroyed in any region, it has a negative impact on the democratic balance of the whole world," he said speaking as the chief guest at a webinar organised by BNP activists in Germany on Sunday (17 September).

"Today we want one thing, that is the right of the people of this country to vote," he added.

"Millions of people participated in our (BNP) rally today - they are not all BNP workers - they came to BNP's rally for democracy, human rights and voting rights," the BNP leader further said.

Alleging that the government is imposing misrule through repression, he said, "Even in the Mughal period, Bengal did not accept Delhi's rule. The people of Bengal rebelled against Delhi's rule even then. Large-scale anti-British mass movements also started in Bengal. Therefore, misrule cannot be imposed on the people of Bangladesh."

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, while speaking as the special guest at the vent, said, "Bangladeshi nationalism has no chance of one-party rule, it has encouraged pluralism - where universalism has emerged - uniting all the people, respecting other minority groups."