Dhaka [Bangladesh], December 22 : Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Monday reiterated his commitment to hold general elections on February 12 and said "the nation is eagerly waiting to exercise their voting rights".
Yunus made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Sergio Gor, the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, at around 7:30 pm (local time)
"The nation is eagerly waiting to exercise their voting rights which were stolen by the autocratic regime," Yunus said.
"The discussion, which lasted about half an hour, focused on trade and tariff negotiations between Bangladesh and the United States, the upcoming general election, the country's democratic transition, and the murder of young Bangladeshi political activist Sharif Osman Hadi," Yunus said in a post on X.
Sergio Gor, who is the US Ambassador-Designate to India, congratulated Yunus "for his leadership during recent tariff negotiations", the post said, adding that Bangladesh succeeded in reducing US reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi goods to 20 per cent.
It said that the US Special Envoy also discussed the "massive funeral" of Osman Hadi.
"Chief Adviser noted that supporters of the ousted autocratic regime were allegedly spending millions of dollars to disrupt the electoral process and that their fugitive leader was inciting violence. However, he said the Interim Government was 'fully prepared' to deal with any challenges," the post said.
"We have roughly 50 days to go before the election. We want to hold a free, fair and peaceful election. We want to make it remarkable," Yunus said.
The post said that Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin, National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman, and SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed were present during the call.
Earlier on Monday, Inqilab Moncho demanded that the killers of its convenor Osman Hadi be brought to justice before the 13th national election and the referendum takes place in Bangladesh, according to a report in BDNews24.
The report said the group also demanded the formation of a "judicial tribunal" involving foreign intelligence agencies like the FBI and the Scotland Yard.
BD News further reported that the platform placed three demands which include the formation of a fast-track judicial tribunal to try the killing of Hadi, with the investigation involving international intelligence agencies, including the FBI and Scotland Yard, identification and prosecution of Awami collaborators allegedly hiding within civil and military intelligence structures and the home advisor, Chief Advisor's Special Assistant Khoda Baksh, and the law advisor to provide explanations and then resign from their posts.
Earlier, Inqilab Moncho concluded its protest at the Central Shaheed Minar after issuing a 24-hour ultimatum to the government, seeking justice for the killers. The group also announced it would hold a "Shaheedi oath" ceremony at Shahbagh at 3pm on Tuesday, according to Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber.
BDNews24 also cited a Facebook post by the Law Advisor Asif Nazrul, who said Hadi's killing will be tried at the Speedy Trial Tribunal, with proceedings expected to be completed within 90 days.
Inqilab Moncho on Monday warned of launching a mass movement to oust the current interim government of the country if justice is not delivered in the killing Hadi, Daily Star reported.
The warning was issued by Abdullah Al Jaber, the organisation's member secretary, during an emergency press conference at Shaheed Hadi Chattar earlier today.
According to the Daily Star, the Inqilab Moncho had issued a 24-hour ultimatum following Hadi's final funeral prayers on Saturday but alleged that the deadline had elapsed without any concrete steps taken by Bangladesh's Home Adviser or the relevant authorities to arrest those responsible for the killing.
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