Press Briefing by Hefazat-e-Islam, Maulana Ashraf Ali on behalf of Amir saheb
*Demand
to release all leaders and workers including the Secretary General
*Government
perpetrated the Genocide in a pre-planned way despite assurance from Hefazat to
vacate Motijheel by next morning
*Ruling
Party Hooligans with the support of the law enforcing agencies committed
violance and burnt shops and businesses
and burnt the Holy Quran and religious books in a pre-planned way and
propagated lies to malign the image of Hefazat
Hathazari 7th May, 2013.
Hefazat-E-Islam
has called for country-wide dawn-to-dusk hartal on 12 May protesting the
genocide carried out on the Muslim scholars and the masses supporting them at
Motijheel Shapla Chattar (Circle) by the government forces.
The Press Conference
was called in the central office of Hefazat-e-Islam at Hathazari, Chittagong,
Bangladesh.
In the jam-packed press conference, Maulana
Ashraf Ali Nizampuri, the Central Literary Secretary, briefed the journalists
on behalf of the Amir of Hefazat-E-Islam.
In the press
briefing, he spoke about the genocide perpetrated by the government on the
Alims (Muslim Scholars) and the mass people supporting them during the night on
Sunday.
He
complained that despite the commitment given, time and again, to the government
that they would leave the Motijheel Shapla Chattar the next morning, the
government carried out the genocide during night in a pre-planned way.
In the
written statement, Maulana Ashraf Ali said:
“We are
speaking before you at such a time when the Alim Community and the masses of
this country supporting them have become subjected to the cruelest killing of
the history. It’s not known to us
whether any other such cruelest pre-planned mass killing has ever been perpetrated in Bangladesh. Corpses of naïve Alims and religious-minded
people are still lying in hospital morgues and in unknown places, with the
roads stained with their bloods. Hundreds of thousands of innocent religious
people out from their houses in the love of Allah SWT and His prophet (SAW) are
yet to be back to their home. We are not in a position to know, where they are
now, how they are, and whether they are still alive or not. The country is
passing through an inexplicably fearful situation. This hellishness has
defeated even the wartime situations.
The
so-called Muslim government of a country majority of which are Muslims, have
conducted, in the darkness of night on May 6, cruel, barbarous and inhuman
killing in the Shapla Chattar arena of Motijheel in the capital, with the help
of police, RAB, BGB and their party cadres, on those innocent, unarmed hundreds of thousands of civilians when they
were either asleep or were in Zikr (Remember Allah SWT). The corpses have
immediately been taken away lest the world should not know how many people had
actually been killed in that operation. Eye witnesses say, corpses have been
removed and transported to unknown destination by municipal garbage trucks,
transport tucks, covered vans, pickup all loaded with corpses. Many apprehend,
the number of corpses can rise from 2500 to 3000. Materials of proof have been
removed quickly from the place of genocide. Thousands and thousands of people
have been wounded. The honorable Islamic scholars and their supporting masses
have been humiliated and tortured, have been forced to leave Dhaka. We were not allowed to speak to the press in
the capital. Allama Babunagari, the Secretary General of Hefazat-E-Islam, is
being tortured after arrest. False cases are being lodged in a bid to arrest
hundreds of Alims.
Since noon
on May 5, police and the hooligans of the ruling party operating in Gulistan,
Paltan, Baitul Mukarram, Bijoynagar, Dainik Bangla Circle area of Dhaka
attacked Shapla-Chattar-bound processions and killed and wounded numerous
people without any provocation. Viewers at home and abroad observed that live
through television. They created deadly anarchy through vandalism and arson and
tried, in vain, to father those on Hefazat-E-Islam.
We want to
iterate in clear terms that anyone having Iman (Faith) who has Faith in Life Hereafter,
who fears about accountability to Allah SWT, who have sensibility and human
feelings, who have sense of responsibility to the people of the country and has
respect for democracy can in no way perpetrate such cruel killings of the Islamic
Clergies and their supporting masses.
It was an
incident of horrible mass killing, shooting at people like game birds by the
forces of Muslim ruler during peaceful sit-in program of a non-political party,
fighting for religious rights, in a country where 90 percent of the population are Muslims. It
will not only remain as a calumnious episode in the annals of history, this
will also be written in red letter as world record for genocide without any
provocation. The Mohazot Alliance Government led by Awami League, pre-planned
very coolly for hours, and then came down on the streets, switched off the road lights, and
conducted this heinous killings with heavy weapons. We have lost all our languages
to condemn this cruel, heartless and inhuman episode. We leave it to the conscience of the
countrymen, and, on top of everything, to Allah Rabbul Alamin for justice.
We submitted
our 13-point demand to the government and gave them enough time to decide. But
the government gave us even no indication that they want to discuss with us
about the 13-point demand which is mainly related to our Religious Rights and Faith.
Rather many of them, terming 13 points as against the Constitution, had
stigmatized that its implementation would tantamount to going back to the
middle age. We explained our 13 points in writing and explained its legal
implications and duly sent to the highest authority of the government. At the
end, the Prime Minister explained our demand point-wise, and rejected all the
demands tactfully. Therefore, as per earlier declaration we went for our
peaceful programs and warned government before we go tough for getting our
demands fulfilled. The government turned deaf to our demands.
When the
program was running, the hooligans of the ruling party started vandalism and
arson, sometime in their own face and sometime in the disguise of Hefazat supporters.
The ruling party hooligans protected by
police attacked Hefazat supporters and ordinary Muslims who appeared to be
Hefazat supporter. Nobody dared to move forward to rescue victims. As a natural
consequence, the hundreds of thousands of common people taking part in the Hefazat
congregation got angry.
The top
leader of Hefazat-E-Islam (Hazrat Allama Ahmad Shafi) was obstructed by police
from attending and closing the congregation before sunset at Motijheel Shapla
Chattar with his speech and prayers. Consequently we decided to continue our
peaceful sit-in program and told the authorities that we would vacate the
Motijheel Shapla Chattar is the morning with the speech and prayers by the Amir
(Leader i.e. Hazrat Allama Ahmad Shafi). We urged the government for stop
attacks and killing by police and ruling party hooligans. But the law-enforcing
agencies and government forces started reign of terror with further vigour even
after sunset. Even in this turmoil we decided that we would in the morning end
the program through prayer to Almighty Allah. We informed the administration about
this intention again and again.
Now it’s
clear, the event born out of these unprecedented aggressive actions without
heeding none of our requests and words, is well pre-planned and instigatory.
It’s transparent to us, permission given to us for holding congregation at
Shapla Chattar, anarchy created through attacks at the other end, ultimatum
given for vacating the place through holding press briefing twice, and
conducting mass killing on our congregation during night is nothing but part of
the heinous conspiracy made in advance by the government.
The Islamic clergy community of this
country is religious and peace-loving. They are committed to getting the
demands as warranted by their Religious Faith and Rights fulfilled peacefully.
The 13-point demand of the Hefazat-E-Islam is the demand of millions and
millions of people who believe in Islam.
It’s loud and clear, demonstrated through spontaneous participation by
hundreds of thousands of people in the Long-March on April 6, and Dhaka Blockade
Program on May 5, that the Islamic clergy community will not rest at home until
these demands met.
The government has threatened us that
they would not allow us to move out of homes. Such threat of denying people’s right to
movement is unprecedented in a democratic civil society.
The
government has put two popular television channels off air who were telecasting
live and objective news about Hefazat-e-Islam program. The other media are publishing and telecasting
lies, concoctions and malignant propaganda to incite hatred against us.
We want to
make it known in clear terms, we do not know the consequences that will take
place for the government if they do not correct their position and attitude. No
government has ever been able to remain in power by force subduing aspiration
of the majority of the population; this government will not too.
For the Islamic
clergy community of this country it is not any matter of politics and political
affiliation with any particular party. Our current movement is neither for
putting somebody to power, nor for bringing down someone from power.
We want to
give to the government the last chance and to say that you have martyred
thousands of our people, wounded thousands and thousands of people. You yourself
have perpetrated the unprovoked mass killing our people, and yet lodging cases
against us. Leave this wrong path; beg pardon of the Islamic Clergy community, release
the real statistics of those killed and wounded, arrange for proper burial of
those killed, and arrange treatment of those wounded, and withdraw the cases.
A huge
number of Hefazat leaders and workers have been arrested including the
Secretary General of Hefazat-e-Islam, Allama Junaid Babunagari. We demand the
government to immediately release all the leaders and workers of
Hefazat-E-Islam including its Secretary General, drop all false cases and stop
all the malignant propaganda against Hefazat. Ruling party hooligans under
police protection looted and put on fire hundreds of shops of the poor people,
business houses and banks alongside roads and yet are telling lies to father
the allegations on Hefazat. The truth has
been exposed with picture in various media. We deeply deplore this malignant propaganda
to incite hatred against Hefazat.
We call to
the Government, please bring to book those who are actual culprits for these
killings – let there be a proper unbiased judicial enquiry. Accept our 13-point demand as early as
possible; otherwise, the strong agitation brewing up in people with faith in
heart cannot be subdued for long. This will flare up, devastatingly, in the whole
of the country, Insha-Allah.”
