Only terrorists will be brought to justice, not innocent students: Arafat

Only terrorists will be brought to book based on specific evidence and no innocent students will be harassed, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat said today (1 August).

“We want to firmly say that the law will be enforced to only terrorists on the basis of specific evidence . . . we have clearly instructed that no innocent student be harassed,” he told journalists at a briefing at his ministry’s conference room at Bangladesh Secretariat this afternoon.

Noting that only the people whose involvement will be found in criminal offences will be arrested, Arafat said from the beginning, the government has been giving protection to the students and never attributed the liability of destruction to them.

“We have respect for the emotions and feelings of the protesting students. We attributed the liability of the destruction to the terrorists. It should be cleared to all,” he said.

The state minister asked the police administration so that the students who took part in the demonstrations, chanted slogans and distributed water among protesters and their family members do not face any harassment.

Expressing deep sorrow and condemnation for every casualty centring the quota reform movement, he said the government is firmly committed to holding trials of all deaths through the independent judicial commission that has already been formed.

Arafat said the commission will independently carry out a thorough investigation into every incident of casualty and bring all responsible people to book.

“If needed, we will take help of external experts for forensic test and postmortem in the investigation process as we are committed to ensure cent percent transparency and remain accountable,” he added.

Referring to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s meeting at her Ganabhaban residence with family members of those who became victims of the incident, the state minister said he personally talked to family members of Abu Sayeed.

Arafat said Abu Sayeed’s family wanted nothing but justice.

“(In reply) I told them, you are the first victims of the incident. And we are also similarly victims of every casualty as disinformation campaign is being carried out against the country centring these deaths,” he said, adding that he assured them of proper justice.

About the destruction carried out during the quota reform movement, Arafat said the nature of attacks on different government establishments was militant-like as breaking jail gate and bringing prisoners, including high-level militants, out of the jail, and looting arms and ammunitions can never be the works of students.

The state minister said launching attacks on metro stations, Disaster Management Bhaban, Setu Bhaban and toll plazas were not the acts of students, rather those were carried out by an infiltrated third party.

“They (the third party) tried to cause more casualties to escalate tension so that they can fish in troubled water. But they did not do it directly, rather they used the students as shields and abused their emotions and feelings,” he added.

Pointing that the government never wanted any casualty, Arafat said none of police, RAB and BGB personnel was allowed to open fire, they had to work in line with the country’s constitution.

“But some of the law enforcement agency members might break law on the ground. We will bring those to book too following the independent judicial probe,” he added.

The state minister said the government also respect the emotions of the protesters, who are still demonstrating on the streets by singing Ganasangeet and chanting slogans.

“But we want to request them to play a responsible role so that the third party cannot enter their demonstration and carry out destruction again as it (the third party) is lurking in the dark to push the country into an anarchic situation,” he added.

The state minister referred to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s address to the nation on July 16 where she made some commitments, including the formation of judicial commission over the six deaths on that day and assurance of meeting students’ demands.

“If we could remain patient following prime minister’s commitments she made in her address to the nation, then the third party could not have infiltrated to cause the rest of the deaths,” Arafat said.

He added, “Therefore, I would like to call everyone to remain patient, control emotion and think logically (to avert any unwanted situation in future).”