No point in being civil; if one of us is killed, we can kill too: Mahfuj Alam

Former adviser to the interim government Mahfuj Alam has warned that any attack on July Uprising activists will be met with a counter attack.

"No one should lay a hand on us. If one of us is killed, we will kill too. There is no point  in being civil anymore. There has been enough patience, enough reconciliation, enough talks,"he said on Monday (15 December) at an all-party resistance rally organised by Inqilab Mancha at the Shaheed Minar, protesting the gun attack on Osman Hadi.

Mahfuj, one of the key leaders of the 2024 mass uprising, mentioned their calls for conducting transparent trials at the ICT Tribunal. 

"Trials are ongoing on one hand, but on the other hand, people flee to India through legal loopholes, take shelter there, carry out terrorism from there, and shoot at our brother. We will not tolerate this."

He also warned that if attempts are made to disrupt their security, those who protect Indian and foreign interests in Bangladesh will not be safe either. 

Mahfuj Alam said the uprising activists exercised restraint even though they could have acted out with retaliation. 

"It was because of that restraint that they dared to do this [shoot Sharif Osman bin Hadi]. 

"If granting forgiveness was a mistake, then we take a vow, we will not forgive again," he said.

He added that some people have taken the country's internal political struggle outside and he warned them that the struggle for liberation can also be taken beyond the country's borders.

Mahfuj Alam further said through Bengali nationalism and on the basis of the 1972 Constitution, Mujibism was established, and through that, thousands of people have been killed in Bangladesh. 

"To maintain Indian hegemony, everyone, from cultural activists and intellectuals to teachers, has been brought under control. 

"One section has sold its conscience, while another section is operating against Bangladesh from within the country. Osman Hadi stood up against this," he said.