Bangladesh will become unliveable if AL returns: Rizvi

Bangladesh will become a "land of joy for the executioners" if the fallen dictatorship returns to power, BNP Senior Joint General Secretary Ruhur Kabir Rizvi has said, in a direct reference to the Awami League (AL) government ousted in a mass uprising.

"When someone talks about reinstating a dictatorship, it sends a dangerous message to the people. Similarly, when an adviser [of the interim government] tells them [AL] to reorganise their own house, it's an extremely dangerous message," he said.

"If those who created a culture of enforced disappearances, murders and Aynaghar are brought back to power, people will no longer be able to live in this country," said Rizvi, while talking to reporters during a mass awareness campaign event against dengue organised by BNP in Dhaka's Elephant Road area today (7 October).

"Democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of expression will be buried in the graveyard forever," he added.

The senior BNP leader continued, "We are hearing and seeing on various social media platforms that the government is, in various ways, rehabilitating the former cronies of the dictatorship who have been hiding.

"I said this yesterday, and I'm saying it today, there was an ambassador in Qatar who used to deny renewal of the expired visa of anyone [expatriate] there."

This ambassador used to look into the political party these expatriates support because most expatriates in the Middle East support the BNP. He used to harass the expatriates in various ways and denied renewal of their visas, Rizvi claimed.

He continued, "I've heard that this person has been made the foreign affairs secretary. So, who is the interim government rehabilitating? Those who have betrayed the people, those who are desecrating the bodies of the martyrs today, those who are showing contempt for the martyrs' sacrifices and blood?"

Rizvi said the chief adviser of the interim government, Dr Muhammad Yunus, must look into these issues. "Who made this ambassador to Qatar the foreign secretary?

"If those who have played an active role in suppressing the opposition by supporting a fascist like Sheikh Hasina are placed in important positions today, if they are appointed as secretaries of important ministries like the foreign affairs ministry, then this government's actions will be called into question," he warned.

Md Jashim Uddin was appointed as the 27th secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 8. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Bangladesh ambassador to China with concurrent accreditation to Mongolia. Before that, he served as the ambassador to Qatar from 2020 to 2022.