B'baria Attack: Muktadir's rejoinder, our reply

Awami League MP from Brahmanbaria- 3 Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury has sent a rejoinder to the news titled "Attack on Hindus in Brahmanbaria: Ambition, not religion” published in The Daily Star on December 9, 2016.

We are publishing the full text (unedited) of the rejoinder here:

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“I am drawing your attention to the fact that your newspaper 'The Daily Star' has published a concocted, fabricated, false and 'looks intentional' report on 9 December(Friday) that has tried to wry my political and personal image and clearly tried to  bracket me with the nefarious incidence of Nasirnagar attack on Hindu community. The so called 'investigating report' by two of your reporters, namely M Abul Kalam Azad and Rashidul Hasan (the person who interviewed me few days back before I left for U.K. on personal ground), caught my attention three days later after the report was published when one of my well-wishers from media circle informed me about it (on 12.12.2016). 

According to Society of Professional Journalists, "Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information." It says, 'take responsibility for the accuracy of their  work, verify information before releasing it and use original sources whenever possible.' It also says, 'consider sources' motives before promising anonymity.' Unfortunately, both the reporters have violated all these conditions that ought to have studied.    

I very much doubt that the whole story by two guys, I feel shame to call whom journalist, has been influenced by otherwise and worked to serve the interest of the vested quarters. I do challenge both of them to prove their claim by evidence. Moreover, try to be rational, it is not merely a question of evidence. Before using a negative term against a politician, who holds confidence and trust of the majority in his constituency, a newspaper should show its responsibility.   

The report has labeled me as 'an ambitious person'. No doubt about it. Every human being has to be ambitious. To have ambition is of no fault. The famous Spanish painter Salvador Dali once said, intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. Yet both of these reporters did not understand what they meant by using the word 'ambitious'. In the report they termed me a 'bureaucrat-turned politician'. It is unfortunate that the reporters even did not look into my political background before submitting the report. It is widely known to all politically conscious people that I was a student activist and a veteran freedom fighter. I have been pursuing the ideals of Bangabandhu for my whole life. I had been an active central committee member of erstwhile East Pakistan Students' League and Bangladesh Students' League as well. Later, I was chosen by Bangabandhu as a member of BAKSAL students' front Jatiyo Chattra League Central Committee. I had been in jail for 23 months after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu and his family members. I contested DUCSU election on BCL ticket as General Secretary Candidate in the Quader-Rabiul Parishad. Later on I joined Civil Service and resigned from the service in 2005 and joined politics. I was given AL ticket to contest 2007 election in the parliament. But unfortunately could not get nomination in the 2008 election due to a technical ground that three-year bar for a govt. servant in contesting election was not fulfilled. So, is there any way to describe me a parvenu politician, what your newspaper has done? 

Moreover, I cannot understand how a man's ambition, if the gossip we suppose true, could be the cause of a communal violence against which he fought whole of his life? I have firmly requested the law enforcers publicly to take necessary action against the culprits, does not matter who they are. I would like to say very clearly that I only know a few persons in Nasirnagar and that also I do not have any contact with those 08 to 10 persons. I visited Nasirnagar long after 40 years only to see the devastation done by the criminals. I have always avoided having any sort of political contact in Nasirnagar in favor of  the local MP as to he could do his politics without any hindrance. 

There is no grouping in Brahmanbaria Distrit [sic] Awami League politics. MP from Nasirnagar, who is also a minister, has no say or he does not have any interest in Brahmanbaria politics. He is totally satisfied with his Nasirnagar politics. So there is no question of clash between us. To nominate U.P. chairmanship, we from District Committee proposed five (5) name for five (5) unions. The central nomination committee for local government has finally nominated two among five where Akhi was one. Before the nomination done by the committee, Akhi had been completely unknown to me.

But whatever the conflict, if were, of District and Upazila AL (on which the local MP has absolute control) could never be a cause to attack on Hindus. This rumor was actually aired by a vested quarter.  Rather, the whole things, I like to say, had been the result of negligence and utter foolishness of local administration, both civil and police as well as of local political forces, who did not take appropriate measures to control the situation, rather helped to aggravate the situation by allowing two meetings of, so-called religious groupings. There was total callousness on the part of local political forces and administration. To hide the actual perpetrators and criminals a vested quarter came up with the maiden story of so-called political conflict, which is totally baseless and fictitious. Money and illegal influence are being used to divert the attention from the actual perpetrators of the heinous crime.

The reports earlier presented in your newspaper also contradicts present one, prepared by the same reporters. I wonder how these persons could change their earlier position without being otherwise influenced. I have the reason to believe that the very law maker (I hope that he does not belong to AL) whom they quoted (the reporters) in their concocted report, might invested a lot to influence the report. In this regard I like to mention here of two recent reports published in the national dailies where I came to learn that the Deputy Speaker of our neighboring country India's Tripura State Legislative Assembly Mr. Pabitra Kar and Swami of Dhaka Ramkrishna Mission, stated that the attack was completely a local issue. It has no other implication. Politics has nothing to do with it. The attackers were religious bigots and were from all shades of political quarters. Now, is not it your duty to probe that the fact was something different? Let's forget your' condition of anonymity'.

It has been more than clear that the report was deliberate and inequitable. In one of your reports you reported that three government investigation report did not find my name.  It is your fictitious characters "condition of anonymity" only found me in the case. Is not it a laughable effort to debase a politician? 'Condition of anonymity' is a term most frequently being used by some newspaper without having responsibility of using the term.  Moreover, no concerned committee, no professional reporting or no individual found my involvement in the matter except your newspaper. The body language of reporting in your newspaper has been completely inequitable. Your newspaper report compared two politicians in a way that has been totally conflicting with newspaper's morality. It is unacceptable not only to me but also to the people of my constituency.”        

OUR REPLY

Our report was based on police findings and our own investigation in which we talked to more than 100 people in the locality.

Two police probe committees -- one formed by the Police Headquarters and the other by Brahmanbaria district police -- investigated the attack by the religious zealots, and both found internal conflict of local Awami League was a major reason behind the attack, and that finding has already been published.

"The attack took place following an internal conflict of the local AL over establishing supremacy," Deputy Inspector General of Police of Chittagong Range Shakhwat Hossain, who headed the probe body  formed by the Police Headquarters, told The Daily Star in Brahmanbaria.

Moreover, additional superintendent of police in Brahmanbaria, who headed the probe body formed by the office of superintendent of police (SP) in Brahmanbaria said, "There were several elements involved in the attack but it was the internal conflict of the local ruling party, in which one group tried to discredit the other, was a leading element."