No one will be able to cause any harm to Awami League because of its dedicated leaders: PM Sheikh Hasina

"Bangladesh Awami League has given birth to many devoted and committed leaders.. . that's why attacks were made time and again on the country's oldest political party. But none were able to cause any harm to the organization as the leaders believed in its ideology and principles and did not try to amass money and wealth," she said.

In this connection, Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League President, said the names of these party leaders would remain written in "golden letters" for their invaluable contribution to Bangladesh's independence, establishing rights to vote and food as well as the movement for protecting democracy and anti-autocracy movement.

The Premier said this while addressing a memorial meeting as the chief guest in the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh(IEB) auditorium here on Tuesday afternoon.

Dhaka City Awami League arranged the meeting in memory of its acting President MA Aziz and former publicity and publication secretary of Bangladesh Awami League Nurul Islam.

AL Advisory Council Member and Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu and AL Advisory Council Member and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Presidium Member and Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, AL Joint Secretaries Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, city AL General Secretary and Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, city AL Joint Secretary and Food Minister Advocate Quamrul Islam, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, city AL Joint Secretary Hazi Mohammad Selim, MP, Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh,MP, AKM Rahmatullah,MP, and late MA Aziz's son Dhaka South City Corporation Councillor Omar Bin Aziz and senior leaders of Dhaka City AL spoke at the meeting.

Dhaka City AL Vice-President Kamal Ahmed Mazumdar, MP, chaired the meeting, while Dhaka City AL Publicity and Publication Secretary Abdul Haque Sabuj conducted it.

Earlier, a minute's silence was observed as a mark of respect to the memory of the two veteran AL leaders.

Paying rich tributes to the dedicated leaders of the party for their sacrifice for the country, people and party, the Awami League president asked the leaders and workers of Dhaka city unit AL to further strengthen the organization by taking lessons from the devoted party leaders.

"I would like to tell the leaders and workers of Dhaka city AL to take lessons from them on how they make sacrifice for the country, people and party. If all take lessons from them to take ahead the party further, then the souls of those dedicated leaders would remain in peace," she said.

Highlighting the role of the veteran leaders of the party in strengthening the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina noted that they had given love and affection to her after her return from exile in 1981.

"After returning home, I visited the residences of almost all of the leaders of Dhaka city Awami League and I got tremendous love and affection from them. .. I returned home in 1981 after losing everything and it can be truly said the party's veteran leaders gave me lots of affection at that time," she said.

Noting that her political life was not smooth at that time, she said she had to face repression from the then government on one hand and face problems inside the party on the other. "But the party leaders who were with Bangabandhu were also with me and I received all sorts of cooperation from them...that's why the party reached such a stage now," she said.

Pointing out that the relationship of Bangladesh Awami League is with the roots of the country's soil, the Prime Minister said attempts were made during the rule of the last caretaker government to destroy the party.

"The caretaker government was a conception to destroy the Awami League and they made attempts to form "Kings Party"...some other governments too made such attempts. But they could not move away Awami League as its ties are with the roots of the soil of the country," she said.

In this connection, she recalled the role of Dhaka city AL leaders and workers during the caretaker government and said they had to face mindless torture and repression from the then government.

The premier said the AL leaders and workers at that time collected 25 lakh signatures from the people of all strata, demanding her release and sent the list of the signatures to the chief of the caretaker government. "They have made possible the impossible and the caretaker government then realized that Awami League could not be finished hastily," she said.

The Prime Minister remembered the contribution of Nurul Islam and MA Aziz to the party, saying that their deaths are an irreparable loss for the oldest political party of the country.

In this connection, the Prime Minister mentioned the role of Nurul Islam in all democratic movements and said she knew him from her childhood as he suffered jail repeatedly from 1958 marshal law regime and wrote party
posters.

"There were always papers regarding the posters in his hand and he wrote posters day after day and night after night and pasted those on the wall with his own hand," she said.

The Prime Minister said after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, he always enquired about their families during that bad time. "Nurul Islam chacha always found out those who were going to London and he used to send "katbel", mango and tamarind to (Sheikh) Rehana through them," she said.

While paying rich tributes to MA Aziz, the Prime Minister noted that she always called him "Aziz Bhai". "There was a relation of Bangladesh Awami League with the family of MA Aziz from the birth of the party and his family has invaluable contribution to all movements from the Language Movement," she said.

The Prime Minister said MA Aziz's family used to extend financial support to make successful all programmes of Bangladesh Awami League including arrangements for construction of stage and supply of food.

She also mentioned the role of MA Aziz for her release during the caretaker government and arrangements for marriage of Tin Kanya (three daughters) whose other family members were killed in tragic Neemtala fire in the old part of the city.

Sheikh Hasina urged MA Azis's son, who is a councilor of Dhaka South City Coporation, to work following his father's ideology and upholding the family tradition.