BNP Never Resorted to Covert Tactics Despite Repression: Tarique Rahman

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday asserted that his party never abandoned open street protests or resorted to "covert tactics" despite years of state-sponsored disappearances, killings, and legal harassment.

Addressing a gathering of families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Dhaka, Tarique said efforts to suppress the BNP through conspiracy or propaganda would fail due to the party's uncompromising stance against injustice.

Reflecting on the party’s 15-year struggle against the previous authoritarian regime, the BNP chief noted that the movement’s intensity never wavered. "When one family member was forcibly disappeared, another stepped onto the streets the very next day," he said. "BNP activists never went into hiding under the guise of strategy."

He emphasized that a political party whose members are prepared to sacrifice their lives for democracy cannot be subdued by smear campaigns or conspiracies.

With the national election approaching, Tarique urged citizens across all political lines to remain alert against attempts to derail the country’s democratic transition.

“Some are trying, under various pretexts, to create controversy and disrupt the democratic process. They must not be allowed to succeed,” he warned. He argued that only a democratic government, accountable to its people, can ensure justice for the victims of political violence—ranging from the 1971 Liberation War and the 1990s anti-autocracy movement to the recent July-August 2024 uprising.

The event, held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, was a joint initiative of BNP-affiliated groups and the platform “Mayer Daak.” Relatives shared harrowing stories of suffering, while the gathering paid tribute to the late BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Tarique concluded by calling for unity and patience to safeguard the restored path to democracy.