The interim government remains “in control” of the situation ahead of the national election, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said to Al-Jazeera in an interview published yesterday (15 January).
“If you look at the past week alone, there were at least three major political events and all three broke records in terms of crowd size. Our security forces managed to keep things peaceful and hold those events according to expectations,” he said.
On law and order, Al Jazeera cited the killing of youth leader and Inquilab Mancho spokesperson Sharif Osman Bin Hadi and attacks on two media houses. Shafiqul said, “There were attacks by mobs, and we sent our troops to prevent them…they rescued journalists who were trapped in The Daily Star building, but they couldn’t stop the attack itself. We are investigating why they failed to take action.”
He rejected allegations by the New Age editor Nurul Kabir that the government had allowed the assault on him, calling the claim “an absolute lie.” “We sent the police. We sent the military,” he said, adding that arrests were made after reviewing video footage.
Responding to criticism from the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, Shafiqul said, “Look at our records. We’ve been in power for only 17 months. Go to the police and check crime records over that period.”
On the decision to bar the Awami League from contesting the polls, he said, “They have robbed themselves of the right to be a political party,” alleging that party activists were involved in violence. He dismissed Human Rights Watch’s concerns over arbitrary detentions, saying, “There are valid reasons to detain these people.”
Turning to India, Shafiqul said there was no diplomatic crisis despite the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina remaining in New Delhi, accusing the Indian media of spreading misinformation. Defending Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Shafiqul said, “He inherited a broken economy.” “Our record speaks for itself,” he added. “The economy has recovered. Law and order have improved. Peace and stability have been.