‘If injustice continues, there will be reactions’— Mohammad A. Arafat’s warning

Staff Correspondent

Awami League leader Mohammad A. Arafat has taken a dig at the culture of political violence of the BNP, Jamaat, NCP and followers of Dr. Yunus in a tweet. His comments raised questions about the continuous attacks on Awami League leaders and activists, torture and oppression of women leaders and political vendetta.

A. Arafat wrote that in the case of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, everyone claims “civility”, but throwing eggs at Awami League leaders like Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Salman F. Rahman, Anisul Haque, and Junaid Ahmed Palak is considered legitimate.

He raised the question, is this the political culture? Similarly, should attacks on the homes of Jatiya Party leaders or arson attacks on their offices be accepted as normal? Has attacking leaders and activists of the 14-party alliance also become a common thing?

In a tweet, he mentioned that criticizing a female leader of the NCP is considered ‘unacceptable’, while female leaders of the Awami League have been made to wear shoelaces, have their hair pulled and have been beaten. At that time, Dr. Yunus’ followers did not want to see these incidents.

Yet, Awami League leaders and activists maintained political etiquette—they did not touch Fakhrul, nor did they even attack the NCP female leader by throwing eggs.

Arafat said, if Obaidul Quader had been in Fakhrul’s place, eggs would have definitely been thrown at him. Similarly, if that female leader had been from the Awami League, she would have also been subjected to egg attacks. In the past one year, the armed forces of BNP, Jamaat, NCP and Yunus have introduced this culture. A freedom fighter was insulted by wearing a garland of shoes, and shoes were thrown at female leaders of the Awami League. In one incident, a Chhatra League worker’s house was attacked and his mother was hacked to death while she was praying. Political violence has reached the extreme level of brutality.

Yet when Awami League workers approached Fakhrul, they did not even abuse him. Only one person in the crowd was heard to say: “Don’t touch me, egg Akhtar.” In other words, even the female leader of the opposition party was given minimal respect.

According to A. Arafat, no matter how much political damage the Awami League suffered, it did not retaliate—rather, it protested symbolically.

He further wrote, “The political culture that ordinary workers of the Awami League have displayed without any instructions or organizational chain of command is not seen under the leadership of any other party. Today, that has been proven once again.”

The Awami League leader warned that if injustice continues in the name of justice, extrajudicial killings occur, elections turn into farces, freedom of the press is suppressed, homes of Awami League leaders and activists are attacked, thousands of activists are harassed in false cases, fathers are arrested and sent to jail instead of sons, or mothers are killed without finding their children—then there will be repercussions. This is the reality.

In Arafat’s words, even if Dr. Yunus’ armed forces and so-called social media followers hide the truth by calling the Awami League’s protests a “crime”, resistance will arise against their injustice. This will be the justice of nature.

He also attached pictures showing how BNP, Jamaat, NCP and Yunus supporters attacked female leaders and workers of the Awami League. These pictures bear evidence of gender-based political violence against women in Bangladesh.