Garment owners in a procession marched towards Gono Bhaban to share their concerns with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this evening.
Around 300 businessmen brought out the procession from the Karwan Bazar office of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) around 6:00pm.
But, police stopped the garment owners at Farmgate and allowed a team of 20 to go to Gono Bhaban, official residence of the prime minister.
Earlier in the afternoon, the BGMEA leaders in an emergency meeting decided to meet the premier and opposition leader Khaleda Zia separately to express their concerns about the current political violence which has affected the industry badly.
“We’ve already started for Gono Bhaban,” said former BGMEA president Abdus Salam, UNB adds.
They will also hand over a memorandum to the prime minister seeking an amicable solution to the current political crisis, sources at the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The leaders going to meet the country’s two top leaders are from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), BGMEA, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association (BTMA), Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and other trade and chamber bodies.
After the meeting with the prime minister, they will meet BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, he said.
On Sunday, top business leaders sent out a strong message for the two top leaders – Hasina and Khaleda – and urged them to stop violence immediately giving space for smooth functioning of the country’s economy.
“We can’t be helpless witnesses to the gradual destruction of the sector (RMG). You (Hasina-Khaleda) can do politically whatever you like, but nobody has the right to destroy the RMG sector. The RMG sector is our pride,” President FBCCI Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed told reporters at a joint press conference at BGMEA on the day.
BGMEA President M Atiqul Islam also urged the two top leaders to stop violence. “We call upon the two leaders (Hasina-Khaleda) to stop (political) violence. The RMG sector can’t be the victim of your politics… we want security… we want to do business smoothly,” he said.
Source: The Daily Star
