Staff Reporter:
Former adviser and frontline leader of the July Uprising Mahfuj Alam yesterday said those who serve the interests of India or other foreign powers would not be allowed to remain safe in Bangladesh if the country’s people themselves are unsafe.
“If we are not safe in this country, our enemies will not be safe either.
Those who serve Indian interests or the interests of other foreign forces will also not be allowed to re-main safe. This is the basic condition,” he said.
He was addressing an all-party resistance rally protesting the attempted killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, organised by Inqilab Mancha at the Central Shaheed Minar premises yesterday afternoon.
Alam said political issues within the country must be confronted politically inside Bangladesh, but warned those who take the country’s internal conflicts beyond its borders.
“If the issues of this country are taken outside the country, then the struggle for liberation of this country will also go beyond its borders,” he said.
Referring to past restraint, Alam said if mistakes had been made by showing forgiveness, a resolve must now be taken not to repeat them.
He said Osman Hadi had stood against “invisible foreign assets” operating inside the country, alleging that both local and foreign interests had justified violence against him.
“When Osman Hadi was attacked, everyone remained silent-there was no voice, no clear stance. Instead, there is a performance of pretence,” he said.
Mahfuj claimed that after August 5, 2024 there had been the capacity to act decisively against pro-Mujibist and Awami League-linked groups, but restraint was exercised, which emboldened their oppo-nents.
Warning of a “grave situation ahead,” Mahfuj said any attack on activists would provoke strong re-sistance. “If a body falls, we will respond accordingly. Civility alone will not work anymore. There has been enough patience,” he continued.
The former adviser alleged that while trials were continuing through legal processes, some accused were exploiting legal loopholes to flee the country, take refuge in India, and incite or carry out violence in Bangladesh. “We will not tolerate this,” he said.
Mahfuj also called on teachers, legal professionals, media workers and cultural activists who support the July movement to resist anti-July forces within their respective spheres.
“If the strength of July is built constructively, we will be able to confront both the internal issues and the pressure surrounding us,” he said.
