The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Although pressure gradually mounts on the Awami League central leadership from its rank and file to launch a movement seeking the release of detained party president Sheikh Hasina, the key leaders seem reluctant about a street agitation at this point of time.

"I think the party should go for a movement demanding the release of Sheikh Hasina as it's the demand of the people now. They (people) love Hasina and want her leadership. So the state cannot do anything to her that goes against their desire," AL leader Abdul Latif Siddeque told UNB yesterday.

He urged the party policymakers to get united shedding their all differences at this critical moment of the country.

But, according to sources, the party central leadership is unwilling to launch any movement at the moment as it might delay the general election. "We don't want to take any risk that might delay the election. We want to observe the caretaker government's move for a few months to be sure whether it is going to hold the election as per the electoral roadmap," said a party leader wishing not to be named.

According to the central leaders, any movement aiming to free Sheikh Hasina is unlikely to be successful under the state of emergency and they do not have enough organisational strength to go for a tough street movement.

The party policymakers are rather planning to go for agitation on national issues like price-hike of essentials, food shortage, short supply of fertilizer and power, unemployment and against the closure of mills and factories, party insiders said.

But, they said, the issue of Hasina's release will not be there in the demands as the party wants to rejuvenate its leaders and workers, and mobilize public support in favour of their movement.

To make that happen, the central leaders will hold meetings with the district-level leaders to have their views about launching any movement.

A meeting of the party central working committee tomorrow (Saturday) will fix the dates for the meetings and take some important decisions on the workers' demands, a working committee member told UNB.

A meeting of the party secretaries and assistant-secretaries on March 20 expressed their disappointment, as their demand to launch a movement for Hasina's release has gone unheeded so far.

Grassroots-level leaders and workers criticised the central leaders in party programmes on March 7 and March 18 for not launching a tough movement for the release of Sheikh Hasina.

In the wake of growing discontent among the party rank and file, Awami League cancelled its scheduled discussion on March 26 marking the National Independence Day to avoid any kind of unwanted situation, the party sources said. "And now they (central leaders) have started avoiding us (grassroots leaders and workers) so that they do not have to hear the demand for launching any movement," a party district leader said preferring anonymity.

The party from its highest forum Wednesday demanded the caretaker government start the proposed dialogue with the political parties immediately to avert any kind of conflicts saying that where there is no dialogue, there is no way to reach a solution, except conflict.

Talking to UNB, AL presidium member Suranjit Sengupta said now the government will have to decide where it would push the country towards a conflict or a consensus.

He said the party will raise the issue of Sheikh Hasina's release at the proposed dialogue with the government and the party will not compromise in this regard (Hasina's release).

"We want resolution of all the unresolved issues through discussions with the government. We'll raise the issues of Sheikh Hasina's release, parliamentary polls ahead of the local body elections, specific timeframe for holding the parliamentary polls and steps for mitigating the public sufferings caused by the price-hike and power crisis," Suranjit said.

The AL leader said there would be solutions to all the problems when the government would hand over power to an elected government through a fair election.