Referring to the end of what he called a “brutal autocracy”, the BNP leader added, “The liberation will be complete only when those who looted the banks and extorted people are eradicated politically. We cannot compromise with them. They must not be allowed to return to power under any circumstances.”
“Once again the Awami League will come to power, along with other parties, and plunder the nation – we won’t allow this any longer. We want democracy. And what is democracy? It’s where ordinary people can express their opinions and vote to elect their representatives. Those representatives will run the country. No more elections where votes are cast at night, no more dummy votes, no more MPs being selected by Hasina’s whims, no more billions siphoned abroad or banks being looted. We want to see an end to this.”
Addressing concerns over the interim government, Fakhrul said, “Many people criticise them—they have made mistakes, they lack experience. We had hoped they would, within a year, compile a proper list of the martyrs and ensure their rehabilitation. Sadly, they haven’t done all of it. But they are trying. Only yesterday, the final round of reform talks concluded. We hope to receive the complete report in a few days.”
Referring to reduced US tariffs, he said, “There’s some good news: the US had imposed a 35 per cent tariff on our exports. The interim government and advisers have managed to reduce it to 20 per cent. We thank them for that.”