Al-Qaeda link a political ploy: BNP

BNP has said the government’s statements linking it with terrorist organisation al-Qaeda’s recent audio message is politically motivated and a ploy to win over US and world to its side.) BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday told a press conference the government’s accusations linking BNP with the purported audio message from al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on Bangladesh were politically motivated and bogus. “They want support from USA and other western countries by talking about al-Qaeda threats, as the world has rejected the Jan 5 elections,” he said. “Ruling party leaders are giving out false, absurd and indecent statements everywhere, even in Parliament,” Fakhrul alleged. “We believe this is an attempt to undermine the image of BNP and an effort on behalf of the unelected government to pull the democratic world to its side by talking about terrorism and militancy.” He urged the government to give up its “suicidal ploy to divide the nation and the people for its own political interests”. An audio recording purportedly by Zawahiri has been circulating on the Internet, calling on Muslims in Bangladesh to stage an uprising against the “enemies of Islam”. Senior Awami League MP Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim on Sunday attacked the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami in parliament, saying they were friends of the global terror network. He drew similarities between the BNP’s statements and the al-Qaeda message. Other senior Awami League leaders have also levelled similar charges. Zawahiri is heard in the clip accusing the government of killing “thousands of people”’ during the last year’s crackdown on a violent rally by Hifazat-e Islam at Dhaka’s Motijheel, echoing the claims by the Chittagong-based outfit, the BNP and the Jamaat. The audio tape also expresses anger over the trial of suspected war criminals, most of them belonging to Jamaat. Hifazat and Jamaat have already denied any link with al-Qaeda. At the press conference, Fakhrul said Selim was trying to tell the West that “to prevent terrorism and militancy, it must side with the Awami League”. Fakhrul said Selim’s statement proved that the ruling party was trying to “sell” the al-Qaeda threat to the US to win it over to its side. The BNP acting secretary general claimed that it was the BNP government that had made all the laws and signed international treaties to prevent terrorism. He claimed that the BNP had never supported terrorism and militancy. Militancy and terrorism, according to Fakhrul, was introduced in the country during the Awami League rule and “became state-sponsored during its last rule”. He maintained that that BNP as a “democratic and patriotic party” had consistently “protested against murder, abduction, terror and oppression and will continue to do so”. He strongly criticised Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury’s statements in Parliament. “Matia Chowdhury said Zawahiri came to this country three times under the supervision of BNP and Jamaat. Who will believe that no intelligence agency or international media ever found out that the head of an international militant organisation travelled to Bangladesh not once, not twice, but three times?” he said. On Sunday Matia, quoting the New York-based Time Magazine, told parliament that Zawahiri had visited Bangladesh thrice between 2001 and 2006 “under the supervision of BNP and Jamaat when they were in power”. In the clip, Zawahiri’s interpretation of the Bengali struggle for freedom from Pakistan is chillingly similar to the one offered by the Jamaat. He asks Muslims in Bangladesh to wage jihad against “the enemies of Islam”, the secularists. He is heard accusing the government of killing “thousands of people” during last year’s crackdown on a violent rally by the Hifazat-e Islam at Dhaka’s Motijheel, echoing the claims made by the Chittagong-based outfit along with the BNP and the Jamaat. Fakhrul alleged that the government was abducting Islamic scholars [Alem-Ulama] and BNP activists to suppress a democratic political movement. “The US, Canada, European Union and international human rights groups, civil society and democracy-loving people of the country have also been protesting this. Their statements are also similar to those of BNP’s,” he said. “So if BNP is linked to al-Qaeda because of similarities in statements, similar accusations can be made against those countries and groups,” he said. He also questioned the authenticity of the video. “From what the state minister for foreign affairs said, it seems the government has not been able to ascertain whether the message is authentic. Despite that, the ministers are ranting against the BNP.” In face of terrorist threats, the government’s duty is to unify the nation to counter the threat, the BNP spokesperson said. “Instead, they are trying to accuse a major political party.” Other senior BNP leaders were present at the press briefing.