Dhaka, Dec 10 (V7N)- BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has said that the BNP wants to move away from the politics of revenge and towards a path of national unity and solutions. He assured that no opposition supporter would have to live in fear of the state if the party comes to power.

He made the remarks in a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday (December 10) marking Human Rights Day.

Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh now needs “something bigger than politics”—a united nation where human rights are guaranteed for all, freedom of speech is protected, and dissent is treated as an essential part of democracy. “No one should be persecuted or disappeared for having a different opinion,” he said, adding, “BNP today rejects the politics of revenge.”

Reflecting on the political climate of the past 16 years, Tarique said a “dark cloud” had hung over Bangladesh, under which many citizens—particularly opposition supporters—lived in constant fear. He cited incidents of nighttime raids, false cases, torture, forced disappearances, and families waiting endlessly for loved ones who never returned.

“No one has borne this burden more than the BNP,” he stated, claiming that the party’s leaders and activists were the primary victims of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, deaths in custody, and politically motivated cases. “Even in the 2024 mass uprising, the most blood was shed in the house of the BNP,” he added.

However, Tarique emphasized that oppression was not limited to BNP supporters alone. “Students, journalists, writers, pedestrians, ordinary people—everyone carried the scars of that terrible environment,” he said, highlighting the nationwide erosion of dignity, security, and freedom of expression.

Tarique Rahman also revealed that his own right to speak in Bangladesh had been suppressed since 2015. “There were instructions that no newspaper, TV, or social media in the country should publish any of my statements,” he claimed. Despite the enforced silence, he said he continued to advocate for democracy and public rights.

In his statement, Tarique paid tribute to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, calling her the “symbol of patience and resistance” during the years of political persecution. He said she endured false cases, imprisonment, and attempts at political elimination, yet remained committed to democratic ideals. He also recalled the personal and political struggles faced by their family, including the loss of his brother.

“Suffering does not always make people bitter—sometimes it makes people greater,” Tarique said. “My mother has proven this. She taught us that the injustice we faced must not be repeated in anyone else’s life.”

He concluded by saying that despite severe losses, BNP has not broken. Instead, it has strengthened its resolve to build a nation based on truth, justice, accountability, reconciliation, and the rule of law.

“We want to build a Bangladesh where every person’s voice, rights, and life are valued—where human rights are the foundation of our future,” he said

END/SMA/AJ