United News of Bangladesh

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman has said that the Pilkhana massacre was the part of an "international conspiracy" to keep the Awami League in power. "It wasn’t a mutiny; it was rather a planned murder. In the Pilkhana massacre, we lost the nation's brave sons. Their loss was an attack on the sovereignty of Bangladesh," he said while speaking at a shadow parliament organised by Debate for Democracy at the FDC in the capital on Saturday. By killing 57 army officers, the then Awami League government created an atmosphere of anarchy in Bangladesh, he said, adding that many of the masterminds behind the Pilkhana massacre are still at large, and efforts are being made to bring them to justice. Pilkhana massacre reinvestigation: Commission seeks army's cooperation, as they meet General Waker-uz-Zaman He said that the activists of the Chhatra League and Jubo League, dressed in BDR uniforms, were allegedly involved in the massacre. Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron, chairman of Debate for Democracy, presided over the event. Kiron said just two months after the Awami League returned to power under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership for a second term, the Pilkhana massacre occurred. “It remains a dark chapter in our history.” Pilkhana Tragedy: Martyred Army families demand fair probe, call for Martyred Army Day He said that the massacre was aimed at undermining the country’s sovereignty, not to fulfil any demands. "It was carried out to weaken the army and prevent any strong force like the BDR from existing," Kiron added.  

BNP standing committee has called for beefing up security at Rohingya camps as it thinks this community leader Mohib Ullah was shot dead as part of a deep-rooted “international conspiracy”. At a virtual meeting on Saturday, the BNP policymaking body also strongly condemned and protested the killing of Mohib Ullah by unidentified gunmen at Ukhia Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar, said a party press release on Monday. “The meeting thinks this murder is an outcome of a deep-rooted international conspiracy which has created a major obstacle to the repatriation of the Rohingya Muslim community,” it observed. At the meeting, the BNP policymakers harshly criticised the government for its ‘failure’ to maintain law and order at the Rohingya camps. READ: Mohib Ullah killers to face justice, security at camps to be heightened: Home Minister The meeting urged the government to arrest those involved in Mahib Ullah's killing and put them under trial. Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah, the head of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), was shot dead Wednesday by unknown assailants in the Kutupalong refugee camp of Cox’s Bazar. DSA & other repressive acts The BNP standing committee also discussed a recent report of Article 19, a UK-based human rights body, as it observed that the right to information of the people of Bangladesh has been continuously violated and curtailed in the last 18 months during the Covid period. The meeting said the Article 19 report mentioned that 172 cases were filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) from January to August 2021. “The meeting expressed deep concern over the growing incidents of deprivation of freedom of expression and the right to information taking advantage of the Digital Security Act and other repressive laws.” The BNP standing committee meeting strongly condemned and protested the ‘authoritarianism’ of the government and the process of depriving people of their basic democratic rights. READ: Mohib Ullah murder: Another Rohingya suspect detained “The meeting thinks it is part of Awami League's blueprint for establishing a system of one-party governance. It demands the immediate repeal of all repressive laws, including the Digital Security Act,” the press release said.