Delink with Jamaat

European Parliament urges BNP, says parties that turned to terrorist act should be banned

Diplomatic Correspondent The European Parliament has urged the BNP to cut ties with Jamaat and Hefajat and firmly said the political parties associated with “terrorist acts” in Bangladesh should be banned.
“[The European Parliament] urges the BNP to unequivocally distance itself from Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefajat-e Islam”, according to a resolution adopted at its debate chamber in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday.
Pointing finger at Jamaat, the EP stressed “parties which turn to terrorist acts should be banned”.
It acknowledged that the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has played an important role in providing redress and closure for victims of and those affected by the Bangladeshi war of independence.
The resolution, which was put forward by six political groups on recent elections in Bangladesh, observed that “The opposition BNP is continuing to cooperate with Jamaat-e-Islami and the splinter group Hefajat-e Islam, which are regarded as the main instigators of the violence.”
Immediately after the pronouncement of a verdict on February 28 last year sentencing Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee to death on war crimes charges, Jamaat-Shibir activists had unleashed unprecedented violence in many parts of the country.
In the violent protest that continued for more than a week, armed cadres of Jamaat-Shibir clashed with law enforcers leaving more than 70 people, including eight policemen, dead.
Jamaat-Shibir men continued their violent activities round the year. And after the announcement of the election schedule on November 25, they again unleashed violence to enforce the BNP-led alliance's hartal and blockades to resist the January 5 election. More than 140 people were killed in the violence in around la