Staff Reporter:
National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam on Tuesday said his party supports restoring the civic and political rights of ordinary supporters of Awami League.
“Those who support a fascist party may have committed a moral crime, but if they were not involved in mass killings during the July Uprising. NCP wants their civic and political rights to be restored,” Nahid said while speaking at the ‘Star Election Dialogue: Your Party, Voters’ Questions’ at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.
He said BNP and Jamaat are competing to secure Awami League votes, with members of the ousted par-ty openly joining them, but there has been no solution on the Awami League issue yet.
“If the Awami League problem is not resolved, it will continue to resurface. In that case, a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ should be formed, and the political and civic rights of Awami League sup-porters should be restored on the condition that they seek forgiveness,” Nahid said.
Calling for the dissolution of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Nahid said, “RAB must be dissolved. We have been demanding its dissolution from the very beginning. Alongside abolishing RAB, institu-tions like the DGFI must also be brought under accountability.”
On the upcoming election, he said, many are viewing it solely as a national election, but the referendum must also be kept in mind, stressing that the July Uprising must not be compromised under any circum-stances.
Referring to the implementation of the July Charter, Nahid said, “We were forced to make compromises in many parts of the charter. Many things had to be accepted in light of reality. But the commitment to uphold the charter that has been formulated cannot be violated.”
