For the first time ever in Bangladesh a Catholic was elected to fill one
of the highest offices of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the
largest opposition party.
Albert P Costa is a member of the Bhadun
Gazipur parish, near the capital. He was elected yesterday as president
of Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the party that plays a decisive role in
political activism.
His appointment represents quite an exceptional
circumstance in Bangladesh, where Catholics represent just 0.4% of the
population out of a total of about 160 million inhabitants.
Immediately after his election, Albert P Costa told AsiaNews:
"I got this job at a time of extreme difficulty for the BNP. Thousands
of our activists are subjected to legal proceedings by the Bangladeshi
ruling party Awami League. I will take this responsibility seriously. I
will reorganize the party from the groud up".
The Catholic has replaced Moazzem Hossain Alal, who was elected Deputy
Secretary-General for political education. Albert has been the president
of the Metropolitan Christian Co-operative Housing Society Ltd for some
time. It is the leading organization for cooperation in Bangladesh,
managed by Christians.