Staff Correspondent, New York: A documentary screened at the Bangladesh Consulate in New York on August 7 to mark the second anniversary of the “July-August Mass Uprising” sparked intense controversy and tension. Nur Hossain, an expatriate who identified himself as a “July fighter,” was ejected from the venue after protesting that the documentary distorted history.
During the event, a documentary focusing on the July-August uprising was shown. Immediately following the screening, Nur Hossain stood up in strong protest, pointing his finger at the Consul General, Press Minister Golam Mortuza of the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, and other officials present. He stated, “The July revolution is the harvest of BNP’s 17-year movement. Yet, BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir himself said that the fall of fascism is the harvest of the students’ movement. Didn’t we fight? History has been distorted in the documentary.”
His remarks triggered immediate anger and backlash among the BNP and affiliate leaders attending the event. Heated arguments ensued between Hossain and several leaders. As the situation quickly escalated, he was pushed out of the venue, and consulate security guards barred him from re-entering.
Despite the high tension, the consulate’s scheduled program continued, and the event concluded as planned. Among others, Member of Parliament Monjurul Haque delivered a speech.
Amidst the commotion, Democratic Party District Leader-at-Large and Attorney Moin Chowdhury took the microphone to calm the attendees, urging them: “Brothers, do not be unruly. This is a government institution.”
Strongly criticizing the incident, Gias Ahmed, a member of the BNP Central Executive Committee, remarked, “For 40 years, we have been in continuous movements in this country against Ershad, against 1/11, and against fascist Sheikh Hasina. We have never seen this person before. He is an agent of fascist Hasina. It seems he has no idea about the July movement and its success. In the future, we must ensure that such covert intruders cannot enter such events.”
Meanwhile, Golam Faruk Shahin, a member of the Advisory Committee on Foreign Affairs to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, described the situation as “unwanted.” He stated, “Under the banner of US BNP, all of us were vocal in the movement to oust fascism. There is no scope for arguing over this.”
