18-party vows to continue movement

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. Staff Reporter
The BNP-led 18-party alliance on Thursday vowed to continue movement till the rescue of missing BNP leader M Elias Ali, release of senior leaders of the 18-party alliance and withdrawal of cases against them.
Addressing a press conference, BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said that the government would not be able to stop the opposition movement even it arrests more leaders of the opposition alliance.
The press conference was held at BNP's Nayapaltan central office in the capital after conclusion of the countrywide down-to-dusk hartal enforced by the 18-party alliance yesterday.
Nazrul told the press conference that 18-party alliance would launch more street programmes and their next anti-government programmes would be announced today (Friday).
The next course of action programme was decided at a meeting of the 18-party alliance leaders held at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office with BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia in the chair.
The fresh programme will be announced at a press conference today.
Nazrul told the post hartal press conference that the people of the country observed the Thursday's shutdown programme spontaneously. He thanked the countrymen for making the hartal a success. Condemning arrest of central leader of the party and former DUSCU GS Khairul Kabir Khokon and others, he said that the government arrested the vocal leaders to weaken the ongoing movement. The movement can't be stopped by making arrests and filing cases, he maintained.
He also condemned for the arrest of two journalists. The journalists of a TV channel were arrested by Wari Thana police during hartal hours. But they were released after two hours.
The BNP leader alleged that several hundred leaders and workers of his party and its alliance partners were arrested in the capital and across the country. Many of the leaders and workers were also injured by the attack of police and ruling party cadres during hartal hours, he said.
Sources said that the opposition alliance is likely to enforce more hartals in the next weeks. The alliance has already a programme to stage mass-hunger across the country on Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on the issues.
A top leader of the alliance said that they are thinking of expanding the duration of the mass-hunger and enforcing hartal for two consecutive days next week.
Jebel Rahman Gani, chairman of Bangladesh NAP, one of the partners of 18-party alliance, told The New Nation that there is no alternative to series of hartals in the present situation.
Meanwhile, former and present lawmakers belonging to the opposition will hold a 'symbolic mass-hunger strike' for two hours at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Saturday demanding release of the 18-party alliance leaders and the rescue of former BNP MP Elias Ali.
Opposition chief whip and BNP publicity secretary Zainul Abdin Farroque said that the hunger strike will be held from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.
BNP senior leader and lawmaker Barrister Moudud Ahmed will attend the programme as the chief guest with Zainul Abdin Farroque in the chair.
Talking to journalists at the Nayapaltan office, Farroque said that the arrest of top leaders of the 18-party alliance was a proof that the government wanted to eliminate the opposition.

20 June, 2013 Thursday

18-party vows to continue movement

Next programme today