July Revolution DeclarationStudents to go ahead with planned programme

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has decided to go ahead with its today’s programme to proclaim the ‘July Revolution Declaration’ despite the interim government’s announcement of preparing a July uprising declaration based on national consensus.

Abdul Hannan Masud, chief coordinator of the platform, revealed the decision after a meeting at its Banglamotor head office in the early hours today.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, he said they will observe their programme to proclaim the ‘July Revolution Declaration’, purportedly to end the era of 1972 Constitution, which they term a ‘Mujibist constitution’, and make Awami League irrelevant in Bangladesh’s current political context as per their previous schedule.

Earlier in a dramatic initiative, the interim government decided to prepare a July uprising declaration based on national consensus.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam came up with the information while talking to journalists in front of State Guest House Jamuna on Monday evening.

He made the comments a day after claiming that the interim government was not linked with the student platform’s initiative to declare the July mass uprising a revolution.

Shafiqul said the government’s declaration will be adopted to consolidate the unity of the people, the anti-fascist spirit and the desire for state reforms that were developed through the July uprising.

The declaration will be prepared based on the opinions of all participating students, political parties and factions, including the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement that led the uprising, he said.

“It will express the perspective of the July uprising, the basis of unity and the expectations of the people. We hope that this declaration will be prepared unanimously within a few days through the participation of everyone and will be presented to the nation,” he said.

Following the government’s move, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement sat in a meeting and decided to continue with the programme.

However, different political parties, including the BNP, criticised the attempted ‘burial’ of the constitution while the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami welcomed the move.

Leaders of different political parties, except Jamaat, said the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement should have discussed with all the political parties of the country before taking the decision of making the declaration, as people from all walks of life joined the July revolution to oust autocrat Sheikh Hasina.

Atif Sohel, one of the spokesmen for the platform, said that they will make the declaration at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital at 3pm today.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement is the key organiser of the July Proclamation declaration. The Jatiya Nagorik Committee will also join the event.

One of the movement’s coordinators said it will be a big gathering of the activists of the platform. They invited other political parties to join the event. However, no political party responded till 8pm on Monday.

Jatiyo Nagorik Committee spokesperson Samanta Sharmeen said that the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement is the sole organiser of the programme.

She expressed her hope that following today’s programme, all the political parties which claim to be supporters of the revolutionary power will join them at Shaheed Minar.

Earlier, at a press conference on Sunday at their central office in Banglamotor, the leaders of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement announced that the proclamation would be unveiled to formalise the July Revolution, which led to the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August this year.

Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, “The Mujibist constitution of 1972 will be declared obsolete. From the same spot where the historic one-point demand was announced, we will write the final chapter of the Mujibist constitution’s burial.”

The proclamation will outline key historical turning points, including the anti-colonial struggle of 1947, the 1969 Mass Uprising, the Liberation War of 1971, the Anti-Autocracy Movement of the 1990s, and the July Revolution of 2024.

Sarjis Alam, chief organiser of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, said, “We have only crossed one stage of the revolution. The proclamation should have been made earlier, but a lack of collaboration from various sectors delayed the process. However, this declaration will encapsulate the hopes and aspirations of all anti-fascist forces.”

Alam emphasised that the proclamation will serve as a guiding document for future governance.

The proclamation ceremony will include an oath-taking session for 158 coordinators of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. The platform will also invite all the anti-fascist political parties to join in solidarity.

Draft of the declaration, said, “We, the students and people of Bangladesh, want an interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus and consisting of representative political leaders and civil society members to avoid any military rule or continuation of ‘1/11 settlement’. We want immediate release of political prisoners including Khaleda Zia and student leaders.

“We want reform or annulment of the ’72 constitution as it has sustained fascism in Bangladesh. The interim government, duly constituted, will be entrusted with reforms of the institutions and constitution, justice and fair trials of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and July Massacre, fair trial of financial crimes and bringing back laundered public money.”

The draft proclamation also said, “We need a political settlement altering the ‘72 and 1/11 settlements, which will pave the way for a new democratic republic. We also resolve that we need a state which will be free of any kind of discrimination. We further resolve that the proclamation of July shall be deemed to have come into effect from 5 August 2024.”

Political parties express concern

The political parties, except Jamaat, expressed their concerns that the student platform’s moves might create problems in the country, and the success of the July mass uprising may go into vain.

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said the government is not linked with the student platform’s initiative to declare the July mass uprising a revolution.

At a rally at Birganj College Ground in Dinajpur on Monday, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said the youth are the torchbearers of Bangladesh's future.

“Young students have played a leading role in bringing down the dictatorship. It is their leadership that can shape the future of the country,” he added.

At a programme at IEB in Ramna area of the capital on the same day, BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan said the desire of victory that has been achieved shouldn’t be failed.

“In July-August, we achieved a victory at the cost of the blood of thousands of our students and colleagues,” he added.

A senior BNP leader, wishing not to be named, said that they think Jamaat, along with very few other political parties, is playing a game behind the scene to fish in the troubled water.

“They want an unelected government, but an unelected government can’t resolve the country’s crises. Rather, a chaotic situation will arise if the election is not held immediately,” he added.

The July Revolution began as a student-led movement in early July, demanding reforms in the quota system for government jobs. The protests escalated into a mass uprising, culminating in the resignation of the Awami League government on 5 August. The movement claimed over 1,000 lives and left more than 20,000 injured, many of whom are still undergoing treatment.

Following the revolution, an interim government has been in office for over four months. Despite stability in educational institutions and law enforcement forces, sporadic unrest persists, including fires at six government ministries and heightened tensions among cadre officials.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has planned to gather at least 1.5-2.5 lakh people at the Central Shaheed Minar today to celebrate the July Revolution Declaration.

Abdul Hannan Masud, the central coordinator of the platform, gave this information after a meeting with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner and senior police officers at the DMP headquarters on Monday.

He said at least 500 police personnel will be in charge of security around the 'July Revolution Declaration'.

Masud urged everyone, including the administration, to be vigilant to avoid any chaos around the New Year celebrations and the July Revolution Declaration ceremony.

Meanwhile, addressing a rally in Nilphamari on Tuesday, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said that the people of the country will not accept the interim government if it goes beyond the expectations and aspirations of the people and works on another agenda.