| Dear All, Sometimes we think that all bad news are bad, but I differ that idea. One of the example will be "Hunger strike" by the AWL hardcore party people which will help to increase rice deposit in Bangladesh indirectly. More often they do hunger strike, another people will be saved from excess of rice due to the hunger strike of hardcore AWL party people in Bangladesh. I like to urge them to perform more hunger strike often which may help Bangladesh indirectly. This may not sound right but if you think in cool head then this will make sense to help Bangladesh in the time of rice crises. Please support their hunger strike in future and urge them to perform hunger strike more often. Please do not discourage them from this noble effort to help Bangladesh hungry people. We should support any political party who will do good for Bangladesh. --M. M. Chowdhury (Mithu) ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----- The Awami League will observe a countrywide six-hour token hunger strike on April 29 to press its various demands including release of the party president Sheikh Hasina.
The party presidium at a meeting on Wednesday night fixed the date for the hunger strike – its first major protest programme since the military-controlled interim government assumed office in January, 2007.
The AL central working committee at a meeting on March 29 announced the decision to observe a countrywide mass hunger strike in mid-April demanding immediate release of Sheikh Hasina, steps to contain the spiralling prices of essential commodities and a date for the general elections.
‘We have decided to observe a six-hour token hunger strike across the country on April 29’, the acting general secretary of AL, Syed Ashraful Islam, told reporters after the presidium meeting held at the Gulshan residence of the acting party president Zillur Rahman.
He said that the programme was designed considering the state of emergency and the party would not violate the emergency rule.
‘We will observe hunger strike at the party’s Bangabandhu Avenue office, party chief’s Dhanmondi office and all the 22 thana unit offices in the capital’, Ashraf said, adding that the party leaders and activists outside the capital would observe the programme at places they would be staying from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm as indoor politics was not yet allowed there.
He said that the hunger strike was originally planned for mid-April as the leaders had hoped the emergency would be withdrawn by April 14. The programme has been delayed by a few days considering the present circumstances.
The meeting also discussed Monday’s decision of eight front organisations of the party on waging a vigorous movement without waiting for the main party’s nod to press for Hasina’s release.
The AL presidium decided that the party would not interfere with their [front organisations] decision, meeting sources said.
The party leaders said that the AL should not take the responsibility of street movement at the moment and if the front organisations wanted to go for such programmes they could do it on their own.
‘We have discussed the decision of the front organisations and concluded that they [front organisations] should be allowed to go by their own constitutions … we have no authority to intervene’, presidium member Abdur Razzak told New Age after the meeting.
Another presidium member Matia Chowdhury said that the party had renewed its call for immediate release of Sheikh Hasina and unanimously decided to observe hunger strike to press the demand.
The meeting strongly criticised the Election Commission for its interference in the affairs of political parties and hoped that the commission would stop doing so.
‘It is not the duty of the Election Commission to interfere in the activities of political parties. We hope it will not try to interfere in [the affairs of] Awami League’, Ashraf said, replying to a query on the EC’s role in the BNP’s unity move.
He also accused the EC of delaying implementation of the election roadmap and said that the commission was already three months behind the roadmap.
The meeting demanded holding of parliamentary elections before any polls and urged the government not to make the judicial process controversial by issuing threat to the lawyers of Sheikh Hasina.
Terming the threat to a lawyer of Hasina unfortunate, Ashraf said that the government should not make the trial process controversial by such interference.
He said, ‘The AL wants to participate in the proposed dialogue with the government taking Sheikh Hasina with us, but has not yet made any decision that it will not attend the dialogue without Hasina.’
Replying to another query, Ashraf said that diplomats of foreign missions should not interfere in the internal politics of Bangladesh.
‘They should maintain diplomatic norms and refrain from making comments on the country’s internal issues’, Ashraf said about frequent comments of some envoys.
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