Mohammad Ali Arafat, former State Minister for Information, has said that if there is any need for remorse or apology, the Bangladesh Awami League will address it directly with the people of Bangladesh.
The party says such considerations will only come when normal political activities can resume.
In an interview with Berlin-based DW, Arafat said: โThe Awami League is the peopleโs party, the party that led the Liberation War. It will always return to the people. Whatever apologies or regrets we have will be addressed to the people.
โA group of NGO-backed individuals has taken power by force. If the Awami League apologises or seeks forgiveness, it will be to the people of Bangladesh.โ
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He lamented that the criminals who committed murders over the past year did not show any remorse. โAnd for the killings during the August 5 period, we have called for justice for all murders. We formed an independent judicial commission. Those who now demand apologies from us are the same people who granted impunity to a group of killers.
โThose who give killers impunity, those who carried out mob terror, those who went door-to-door killing peopleโwho will answer for that?โ
Responding to a question about public support, he said: โYou will have your answer in a few days. Militants, war criminals, and communal forces were brought together. Imperial powers poured in money; everything was meticulously designed. Bodies piled up one after another. People’s minds were poisoned; anger was stoked. Now, a year later, the majority of the nation has realised they were betrayed.โ
Arafat said: โThe Awami League did not want more deaths, so it stepped down from power. If it had wanted, it could have stayed in power through killings. But Awami League is the party of the peopleโit did not want that.โ
Earlier, Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that they did not order the police to use force against the protesters during the anti-government protests last July-August.
The police acted according to the law, taking into account the anarchy on the streets and the targeted attacks against both law enforcement officers and ordinary citizens.
They also criticised the farcical trials at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), which is being used against the Awami League by revising the law, issuing an ordinance. On the other hand, many student leaders patronised by Yunus, BNP, Jamaat-Shibir and Islamist parties have already admitted to having carried out killings and arson attacks last year.
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