From the blog of Sajeeb Wazed Joy:
BAR AGAINST MY MOTHER
First of all, I would like to thank all that have shown support for my mother through this ordeal. What the Caretaker Government is doing is outrageous and completely unacceptable. I apologize that I have not been able to post earlier and this is going to be a brief post as well. I have been extremely busy with this crisis and am pressed for time.

The CG is determined to keep my mother out of the country. From a human rights standpoint, this is a clear violation. She is a citizen of Bangladesh and has every right to return to her country. And let us not forget, she is the daughter of the Father of the Nation. Above all else, she has every right to return to Bangladesh.

Under any judicial process she has a right to challenge any and all accusations against her. If the CG has a legitimate reason to not want her in the country then why don’t they allow her face the charges against her in court? They have even placed a ban on the media on broadcasting any of her statements. Why are they so afraid of her and what she might say?

The truth is that with the successful movement to stop the rigged election of January, Sheikh Hasina is the most powerful political figure in Bangladesh right now. She is the only one that commands the respect of the greatest majority of our people. With her leadership, Awami League can mount a successful challenge against any authoritarian regime. And that is exactly what this CG wants to eliminate.

Their hope is that with Sheikh Hasina out of the picture there will be no one to stop them from staying in power indefinitely. There will be no one to challenge their absolute rule. Unfortunately, this also means that democracy will not return to Bangladesh again.

This is the so called “Pakistan formula.” They have taken the exact steps, almost without distinction, that were taken in Pakistan seven years ago. What has been the result in that country? Democracy there is finished and the country has become a hotbed of fundamentalist terrorism. Is this the future we want for Bangladesh?

Much has been made about the theory that the personal differences between the two women leaders of the country is the root cause of all the problems there. It wasn’t personal differences that caused the 1000 extra judicial killings of the last five years, or the assassinations of 2 Members of Parliament, or the mass arrests, or even the attempt at a blatantly rigged election.

Incidentally, extra judicial killings have continued under this so called “good government.” Why is that? I won’t even go into the mass arrests without charges and every other human rights violation in the book.

This is simply a power grab. I, along with many others had warned that this would happen if a non elected military backed interim government stayed in power too long.

Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League are now the only hope for restoring democracy to Bangladesh. If she returns to the country this regime will not be able to stay indefinitely. For this to happen we need your support.

I would like to urge all Bangladeshi’s to raise your voice for what is happening. Raise your voice for democracy. Raise your voice for the future of Bangladesh. Raise your voice for the daughter of the Father of the Nation.