'Let’s survive first': Reorganisation and polls take backseat for a shattered AL
They say the top leaders have not sent any directions or guidance to them even until now
Highlights
- Most party offices burned down
- Many top leaders arrested
- Chhatra League banned
- No directives for ranks and files
- Time will tell if AL will join polls: CEC
Preparing for the upcoming election or organising the party is the last thing on the minds of Awami League leaders and activists, from the central leadership to the grassroots. Their sole focus is now on survival – going into hiding to avoid "attacks from BNP and Jamaat activists" and evade arrests over murder and other charges related to the July uprising.
Following the party's fall from power on 5 August last year, after 15 consecutive years in office marked by unprecedented corruption and severe human rights violations, a majority of grassroots leaders and activists directly pin the blame on ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina for the disarray which they find themself in.
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They say the top leaders have not sent any directions or guidance to them even until now.
After 5 August, the organisational activities of the Awami League – which established virtually a one-party rule in the country through election rigging and suppressing political opposition during its long reign – completely collapsed.
As its activists actively participated in the brutal suppression of protests in July-August alongside law enforcement forces, resulting in the deaths of hundreds and injuries to thousands, the party faced widespread outrage from the public and political opposition across the country after the fall of the government.
After Hasina's fall, the homes of Awami League ministers, members of parliament, party leaders, activists and even supporters were subjected to vandalism, looting and arson in many parts of the country. Even the historic Dhanmondi 32 residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also a museum, was set on fire.
No party office is functional or in decent shape with most of them burned down.
The party's student organisation, Chhatra League, has been banned. There are also demands that the party, or anyone affiliated with it, be barred from participating in the next national elections.
Several party leaders and activists told TBS that in this situation, no one in the Awami League is even thinking about reorganising the party or participating in the upcoming national election.
An organising secretary of the party, currently in hiding, told TBS, "We still don't know how many thousands of cases have been filed over killings and mass killings during the uprising. Leaders at all levels of the party, from central to local, have been named in these cases. Thousands of leaders and activists are in jail.
"On one hand, there is the police crackdown, and on the other, the situation in many areas, created by the BNP and the Jamaat, is so dire that no party leader or activist can appear in public."
Referring to Awami League President Hasina's recent leaked audio calls, he said, "There is no indication in those recordings about party restructuring or election plans. Instead, she has advised everyone to stay safe."
Pray that we stay alive – then much can be done. Right now, Awami League leaders are not focused on the party; they're focused on the struggle for survival.
Recently, on the possibility of the party's participation in the upcoming polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said time will tell whether the party's registration will remain intact and if it will participate in the upcoming election.
"When the time comes, it will be clear which parties retain their registration. Whether the Awami League can participate in the election will also become evident in due course," he told journalists after a meeting in Sylhet recently.
Despair among party activists
Since the flight of Sheikh Hasina to India on 5 August, many of the party's top leaders have been arrested, some have left the country and the whereabouts of others remain unknown.
When asked how the party will function now, a district-level president of the party told TBS, "Pray that we stay alive – then much can be done. Right now, Awami League leaders are not focused on the party; they're focused on the struggle for survival."
An upazila-level president echoed the same: "Let's survive first; we may return to politics later. The real question is whether we will even be given the chance to survive."
The party was in such disarray that no one from the Awami League was able to visit the Dhanmondi 32 residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August, the anniversary of his assassination in a coup along with his family in 1975.
A veteran politician of the party told TBS, "Even after the assassination of Bangabandhu and his family in 1975, the Awami League's organisational activities and street presence did not come to a complete halt in such a manner."
As one central leader puts it, "The party has been politically pushed to the brink of death for at least the next 10 years."
However, the party's joint general secretary, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, recently told BBC Bangla that party leaders and activists have not lost hope.
"After 1975, no one could mention the name of the Awami League for many years. Many people, including the four national leaders, were killed. Many others had to spend long years in jail. But eventually, the party bounced back, and it will do so again this time."
He did not, however, mention where he is currently located.
Numerous cases in ICT
On 14 August last year, law adviser Asif Nazrul suggested that individuals involved in the killings during the July uprising should be tried in the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). On the same day, a petition was filed to investigate Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, and the prosecution accepted the petition.
Subsequently, more than 60 cases were filed with the tribunal against Hasina, with her as the primary accused, along with other party leaders. In addition, over 200 cases have been filed in various courts and police stations.
The tribunal was established after Hasina, upon returning to power in 2009, initiated the trial of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971. After the tribunal's verdicts, several top leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, including Motiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, were executed.
AL's Bahauddin Nasim recently told BBC Bangla, "Our leader brought the Jamaat leaders to justice, and now there are attempts at revenge. But in due course, our leaders and activists will rise again and defeat all conspiracies."
Recently, the foreign ministry sent a formal request to India, seeking Hasina's extradition.
After 5 August, her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, spoke to various media outlets for several days. However, his conflicting statements only added to confusion among the party members.
He told the BBC that his mother would no longer return to politics.
In the face of ongoing attacks, the fleeing leaders and activists across the country became even more disheartened by such a statement.
Later, however, Joy stated that Hasina is ready to return to politics and take charge of the party. He also mentioned that she would return to the country if elections were announced, and that she had not resigned before leaving for India, among other statements.
However, his inconsistent statements have only confused party leaders and activists even more.
When asked why the party is not currently active, Abdur Rahman, a member of the Awami League Presidium, now in hiding, stated in a recent interview with BBC Bangla, "Our leader [Hasina] has not given us any directions or told us what to do."
When asked who will take responsibility for the party, he replied, "There are no instructions."
