NCP, student leaders rally at public unis after Hasnat’s midnight Facebook post, demanding AL ban

Protests, led by the National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders and a few other student organisations, were held across multiple public university campuses today (21 March), demanding a ban on the Awami League.

The demonstrations followed Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' remarks on Thursday (20 March) to the International Crisis Group, where he stated that the interim government had no plans to ban the Awami League.

Yunus, however, said AL leaders accused of crimes, including murder and crimes against humanity, will be tried in Bangladeshi courts and could be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Hours after the chief adviser's comments, NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah alleged in a late-night Facebook post on Thursday that they were offered seat sharings in exchange for accepting a proposal to bring back what was described as a "refined Awami League", which he said is "entirely India's plan".

Hasnat's post sparked immediate student-led protests across several universities late at night.

Later, around 2pm today, Hasnat shared a 28-second video where Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan is heard stating that the Bangladesh Army chief had expressed reservations about Yunus' appointment as chief adviser. 

Then, following Friday's Jumma prayers, mass protests, led by the NCP and members of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD), broke out on university campuses, including Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University, and Islamic University.

By 4pm, NCP Chief Organiser (North) Sarjis Alam announced a renewed phase in their fight to ban the Awami League. In a Facebook post, he declared, "We are ready for the second chapter of the fight. This will continue until the genocidal Awami League is banned."

The NCP held a press conference at 8:20pm last night, where the party's Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain said their protest programmes will continue across the country demanding trial of the Awami League and cancellation of its registration.

"We hear about efforts to rehabilitate the Awami League at various levels of the state. Foreign powers are also trying to generate support in this regard. We strongly condemn domestic and foreign efforts to rehabilitate the Awami League," he said at the emergency press conference held at the NCP office in Dhaka.

NCP Convener Nahid Islam at the conference called for visible progress in trial against Awami League for the "genocide" committed during the July uprising.

Condemning the chief adviser's statement, the former information adviser said, "Even though seven months have passed, there has been no progress in the trial. The National Citizen Party wants to see visible progress in the trial. As a party, the Awami League has committed genocide by organisational decision. Their trial process must be visible."

Regarding the timing of the election, Nahid said, "We support the December-June time frame set by the chief adviser. It is possible to carry out reforms within this period. Let the election be held after passing that stage."

'Refined Awami League' plan

In his first Facebook post regarding a proposal to bring back a "refined Awami League", Hasnat Abdullah specifically named AL leaders Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Shirin Sharmin, and Fazle Noor Tapash as key figures in this initiative.

He said the plan was presented to him and two others at the Cantonment on 11 March.

"We were offered seat-sharing arrangements in exchange for accepting the plan," Hasnat alleged. He claimed that multiple political parties had already agreed to the scheme, which sought to position a weakened AL among a coalition of opposition groups.

He further said the proposed "refined Awami League" would publicly acknowledge the crimes of the Sheikh family, reject Hasina, and attempt to rebrand itself in the spirit of "Bangabandhu's original AL".

However, Hasnat said he and his allies outright rejected the proposal.

"We were told that obstructing the AL's return would make us responsible for any ensuing crisis. They insisted that 'Awami League must come back'," Hasnat wrote. 

Reaffirming his stance, Hasnat declared, "If AL is to return, it will be over our dead bodies." 

He further alleged that pressure had been mounting since the July movement but vowed not to yield. "I do not know what will happen to me after this post, but on the question of banning AL, there is no compromise."

Hasnat later at the NCP press conference provided details of the Cantonment meeting.

Hesitation over Yunus

In Hasnat's shared video titled "Cantonment Intervention Trailer-1", Adviser Asif Mahmud is seen stating that the army chief had reluctantly approved Yunus' appointment as chief adviser.

"The army chief's main veto was: Why Dr Yunus? Why not someone else? Yunus has legal cases against him and is a convicted individual," Asif is heard saying. 

Asif also said the army chief asked, "Awami League cannot stand this person [Yunus], and 30-40% of the people of Bangladesh ultimately support Awami League. Is it wise to make a chief adviser going against these 30-40% people?"

In the comment section of the video, Hasnat said a major television channel had refused to air the full interview, prompting them to release the footage independently. However, a few hours later, Asif Mahmud himself posted an extended 17-minute version of the video.

Protests at campuses

At Dhaka University, the Inqilab Manch, a cultural organisation formed by students-public who partook in the July-August uprising, and the Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, a new organisation formed by leaders of the SAD, brought out protest processions in the afternoon.

The protesters demanded a ban on the AL and justice for the July-August uprising killings. They also demanded the withdrawal of the statement of chief adviser where he said the government does not have any plan to ban the AL.

Slogans such as "ban the murderer league" and "we want justice for genocide" echoed across campus. Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman bin Hadi warned against foreign influence, stating, "We must stand against both Israel and India – the Israel of Southeast Asia."

At Jahangirnagar University, students protested Yunus' remarks and accused the army of attempting to rehabilitate AL. NCP leader Touhid Mohammad Siam declared, "Nothing else is needed to ban this fascist party. If you attempt to bring them back, you have seen in '24 how dangerous students can be."  

Other speakers warned the military against interference, vowing resistance to any attempt to restore AL.

At Rajshahi University, students marched from Zoha Square, demanding AL's ban and justice for the uprising victims. Former SAD coordinator Salauddin Ammar said, "AL will not be allowed to do politics on Bangladeshi soil unless it returns the lives of 2,000 martyrs."

At Islamic University, a sit-in protest led by SAD began at dawn. Protesters vowed continued resistance, rejecting any notion of an "inclusive" election involving AL.  

In Chattogram city, NCP and Chhatra Sangsad leaders rallied at New Market Intersection, warning against foreign-backed efforts to revive AL. NCP's Russell Ahmed stressed, "If AL is rehabilitated, the July movement will rise again.