BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today demanded an international investigation into the deaths and injuries during the recent anti-discrimination student movement.

In a statement, he criticized the government's proposed judicial inquiry as a mere attempt to cover up the violence and demanded adequate compensation for the families of all victims, including police and Ansar members.

The statement strongly denounced the arrest of additional opposition figures, including Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) Chairman and former MP Barrister Andaleeve Rahman Partho.

Mirza Fakhrul claimed that law enforcement agencies have arrested innocent BNP leaders and workers, conducting raids on their homes as part of what he described as the government's deliberate attempts to conceal state-sponsored terrorism and wrongfully attribute violence to the BNP.

Mirza Fakhrul also accused law enforcement agencies of targeting family members of BNP leaders in their absence, subjecting them to mistreatment, and vandalizing their property.

He refuted claims that BNP and opposition leaders were involved in the student movement, questioning why they weren't arrested on the spot if the allegations were true. "This proves that neither BNP nor opposition parties are involved in the movement," he asserted.

Alamgir also blamed law enforcement and ruling party "cadres" for the deaths of several hundred innocent students during the protests.

Fakhrul stated that the government had formed a judicial inquiry committee solely to investigate the deaths of six individuals, which he criticized as an attempt to cover up the entire extent of the killings.

Therefore, he emphasized the public's demand for an international investigation into all incidents and fatalities.

He also suggested that if the government does not comply with this demand, the people of the country believe it should promptly resign, taking full responsibility for its failures.

The BNP secretary general expressed condolences for the deaths of police and Ansar members during the student movement and extended heartfelt sympathy to their families.

Regarding compensation, he noted that while the Home Ministry had provided Tk 2 lakh in cash and Tk 8 lakh in savings vouchers to the families of slain police and Ansar personnel, he lamented the deaths of several hundred innocent and young students, likening their killing to a massacre witnessed by the nation.

Mirza Fakhrul called for holding accountable those responsible for the deaths of students.

Additionally, he urged the government to release all detained leaders and activists of BNP and other opposition parties without conditions, and to immediately withdraw the politically motivated charges filed against them.

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