Oikyafront denied nod for first rally

Jatiya Oikyafront, the newly floated alliance of the BNP and several other parties, suffered its first big blow yesterday as police denied the platform permission to hold a planned rally in Sylhet on October 23.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) turned down the application seeking police clearance, which is mandatory, for its maiden public programme.

Sylhet BNP filed the application on Wednesday on behalf of the alliance, which also includes Dr Kamal Hossain's Gonoforum, ASM Abdur Rab's Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Mahmudur Rahman Manna's Nagorik Oikya.  

"The officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station informed me by phone that permission cannot be granted," said Ali Ahmed, general secretary of Sylhet district BNP.

“Police did not give any reason for the rejection,” he told The Daily Star.

Contacted, OC Selim Miah said the application was turned down on “security grounds”, but declined to elaborate.

The alliance cannot hold the rally as it does not have permission, said Abdul Wahab, additional deputy commissioner (media) of SMP. He too would not explain the rejection.

However, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal cited the recent operation in a suspected militant hideout in Narsingdi as a likely reason.

"The Oikyafront leaders were denied permission to hold the rally in Sylhet probably on security grounds,” he told The Daily Star by phone.

Narsingdi is about 200km from Sylhet.

On Tuesday, the Oikyafront announced it will hold a rally on October 23. The alliance also has plans to hold rallies in Chattogram and Rajshahi in efforts to drum up public support for its demands in their “fight for restoration of democracy”.

The alliance was launched on October 13.

Ever since, it faced scathing attacks by government high-ups almost regularly. Dr Kamal, who played a key role in forging the alliance, has been a particular target. 

The eminent jurist, who is one of the framers of the country's constitution, was a minister in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's government.

After police informed their decision, senior leaders of the alliance held an emergency meeting in the evening in Dhaka.

The meeting decided to seek permission again for holding a rally on October 24, said Manna, convener of Nagorik Oikya.

He said police may have dined them permission on government instructions.

Even if their application is rejected again, they still travel to Sylhet and talk to the city people instead of holding the rally, he added. "We will also visit Chattogram and Rajshahi and meet people there even if the government does not allow us to hold rallies.”

Ever since taking office in 2009, the AL government denied the BNP permission to hold rallies in Dhaka and elsewhere time and again.

BRIEFING THE DIPLOMATES

In the afternoon, the Oikyafront leaders presented their seven-point demand and 11-point goal to foreign diplomats in Dhaka.

The goals and demands were originally unveiled at its launch.

The 11-point goal includes ensuring checks and balances, decentralisation of administration, freeing MPs from the stringent restrictions imposed by article 70 of the constitution, formation of a constitutional commission to make appointments to all constitutional and other important posts and full independence of the judiciary.

Its seven-point demand includes holding the next parliamentary election under a nonpartisan government, dissolution of parliament before the polls and recasting the Election Commission.

Dr Kamal briefed the diplomats and answered their questions.

Sources said a number of diplomats wanted to know what the alliance would do if the government did not accept any of their demands.

In reply, the leaders said the government should come up with alternative proposals in that case.

One diplomat asked about the platform's ties with Jamaat, according to the sources.

To this, Oikyafront leaders said there was no scope for Jamaat, which is a component in the BNP-led 20-party alliance, to be associated with the new platform.

Replying to another query about ruling party leaders' attack on Dr Kamal, the eminent jurist said he was not paying any heed to any of that as his “top priority is the interest of the country,” the sources said, asking not to be named.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir introduced the Oikyafront leaders to the diplomats. Dr Kamal then read out their demands and goals.

The closed-door meeting at a city hotel lasted for about an hour where diplomats from at least 25 countries, including the US, the UK, Japan, Germany, France, Australia, Turkey, Vietnam, Pakistan, Switzerland, Norway, Qatar and Morocco, were present.

There are about 50 foreign diplomatic missions in the country and they were all invited, diplomatic and alliance sources said.