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Political Violence

FBCCI to stage token protests

Staff Correspondent
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) yesterday said it would hold demonstrations across the country in a week to pressure the political parties into restoring peace and stability.
Enraged by the recent political violence that has brought businesses to their knees, the country's apex trade body made the decision at an emergency board meeting at its headquarters in the capital.
It expressed deep concern over the non-stop shutdowns and blockades being enforced by the opposition. Road and rail
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networks have been severely disrupted during the latest spell of the protest, which came as a blow to export and import, FBCCI members said.
"We are not being able to do business amid the current unstable political situation," FBCCI Vice-President Helal Uddin told reporters after the meeting.
The trade body has decided to take a stance against the deadly violence through the protest rallies, he said, "If the situation does not improve, we will hold a grand rally in Dhaka."
Helal added they had already met the two leaders of the major political parties. "Still the violence has not lessened."
Speakers at the meeting expressed shocks at the destructive activities by pickets or hartal and blockade supporters, like torching of vehicles by petrol bombs and gunpowder and hurling crude bombs at passerby.
The trade body had announced rallies in Dhaka a number of times but finally refrained from holding such programmes.
"We are businessmen. It is not our job to hold political programmes.... We are now being forced to announce the programme as the situation has become unstable," Helal said.
"The government and the opposition parties should realise how deadly political activities are hurting the economy before it is too late," said Abdul Haque, a director of FBCCI, who
also attended the meeting.
While staging the Dhaka rally, businesspeople will gather with white flags in a desperate attempt to convince the political parties to restore peace and stability.
The district-level chambers will organise token demonstrations simultaneously.
There they will call for an immediate end to the ongoing political violence and an inclusive general election, Abdul said.
The apex body also decided to sit with the central bank to place its demand that banks do not classify loans borrowed by businesses this year in case of any non-payment by December.
It will also ask Bangladesh Bank to extend the time for borrowers to pay interest, as business activities have nearly come to a halt, Haque told The Daily Star after the meeting.
The FBCCI will sit with the government and the central bank later to urge them to waive the interest, Helal said.
Nearly half of FBCCI directors could not attend the meeting due to the countrywide blockade that began on Saturday and will end Thursday afternoon if further extension is not declared by the main opposition BNP, meeting sources said.
The FBCCI meeting was organised a day after garment exporters, in a rare move, brought out an impromptu procession in the capital, demanding security of the apparel industry that has increasingly been targeted by vested quarters.