[Bangla Daily Star] The Awami League-led 14-party alliance together with other like-minded parties will launch simultaneous political programmes across the country to resist the opposition BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
's latest "move to protect the war criminals".
The decision was made last night at a three-hour meeting of the ruling alliance, which also decided to mobilise public support in favour of the war crimes trial.
Chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also AL president, the meeting held at the Gono Bhaban discussed the current political situation of the country.
The AL move comes against the backdrop of Sunday's street chaos in the capital and elsewhere in the country, which AL blames on BNP and its key ally Jamaat,claiming it was aimed at foiling the war crimes trial.
On Sunday, a series of crude homemade bombs went off in central Dhaka as hundreds of activists of BNP and Jamaat clashed with police, smashed more than a dozen vehicles and set some of those on fire.
A 24-year-old youth was killed in a bomb kaboom at the capital's Motijheel while another man died when some unruly people torched two vehicles in Sylhet, police said.
The government and the opposition blamed each other for the incident.
AL acting general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told The Daily Star after the meeting, "We along with all the pro-liberation war political parties will have strong presence on the streets to mobilise public support in favour of the war crimes trial."
The meeting decided to hold street programme programmes including mass gatherings, rallies and human chain across the country to drum up public support against the opposition's "conspiracy", meeting sources said.