Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, has condemned the attempted harassment of Information and Broadcasting Adviser Mahfuj Alam during his official visit to the Bangladesh Consulate in New York on Sunday evening.

Freedom of speech, assembly, and peaceful protest are cornerstones of democracy, fully protected under the United States Constitution, but these rights must always be exercised with responsibility and respect, he said.

“I call on those who engaged in this conduct to reflect on why their political activities have been banished and banned in Bangladesh: because of a repeated pattern of terrorising people and violent, destructive behaviour. The same behaviour was grossly on display in New York,” he said.

“Let’s be clear, violence is not protest. Intimidation is not free speech. Disorder is not democracy. Protest with dignity, not hostility. Let us remind you that the right to dissent is sacred, secured through the sacrifices and blood of those who died in last year’s mass uprising,” he added.

The strength of any movement is not measured by how loudly it shouts or how violently it acts, but by the discipline, dignity, and responsibility it upholds, said the press secretary.

Learn from both past and present mistakes, he said, adding that thuggery is no longer an option. Grow up, or risk proving once again to the international community why revolution was the only path to a truly free Bangladesh.