Support grows for NCP’s call to ban Awami League

Highlights:

• NCP leads protests demanding Awami League ban and justice
• Shahbagh intersection blocked; protests spread to multiple districts nationwide
• Protesters demand AL ban, ICT law amendment, July proclamation
• Various political parties, excluding BNP, join NCP-led movement
• BNP declines to endorse ban, citing legal, procedural grounds
• Government considers banning AL amid mounting pressure and protests

The demand for a ban on the Awami League, which was ousted from power last August, has intensified as more political parties rally behind the call led by the newly formed student-led platform, the National Citizen Party (NCP).

Since yesterday afternoon, the NCP protesters, joined by various political parties, including Jamaat, Hefazat (excluding the BNP), have blocked the Shahbagh intersection to press three demands: immediate ban on AL, amendment to the ICT Act with provision for AL's trial and declaration of the July proclamation.

With more people joining the protest, the NCP held a press briefing at Shahbagh at 10:45 pm, where Hasnat Abdullah, the party's chief organiser (Southern region), said, "We will not leave the streets until our three demands are met." He also announced that a mass rally will be held at Shahbagh at around 3 pm today (Saturday).

"We have been continuing our movement for 25 hours since Thursday night. We don't know when this movement will end. As long as the AL and its affiliate bodies are not declared terrorist organisations, this movement will continue," Hasnat added.  

Akhtar Hossain, member secretary of the NCP, said at the briefing, "We have come together not at the call of any particular party, but in response to the call of the July uprising. All forces opposing fascism have united again."

Demanding AL's ban, the NCP began their demonstration by staging a sit-in in front of Jamuna, the official residence of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, on Thursday night. As support grew, the party held a mass rally there yesterday after Jummah prayers and later moved to block the Shahbagh intersection in the capital.

By 10pm yesterday, the movement spread across multiple districts, including Chattogram, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Lakshmipur and Rangpur. In Dhaka, various major points, including Shahbagh and Paltan intersections, have been blocked by the protesters.

NCP Convener Nahid Islam, in a Facebook post at around 8pm, warned that all of Bangladesh will march towards Dhaka if the government does not make a decision soon. In an earlier Facebook post, Nahid announced the three-point demand for the government.

Supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Jatiya Ganotantrik Party, UP Bangladesh, July Oikya, Students Against Discrimination (SAD), July Mancha, Inqilab Mancha and other political organisations have joined the protest. 

The NCP called on the BNP to join the movement. 

However, BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, speaking to journalists at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan office, said it is not the party's role to determine whether AL should be banned, noting that such a decision lies with the Election Commission and the government.

Support grows as people join from other districts

Leaders and activists of various parties joined NCP's blockade programme at Shahbagh from different areas in Dhaka and across the country.

Md Shamim, secretary of Jamaat's Mouchak Union unit in Kaliakair of Gazipur, said, "I have come from Gazipur to join today's AL ban movement. Awami League has no place in this country. They have killed innocent people. We will not leave the streets until it [ban] is done."

Sujan Mia from Tangail said, "We are July fighters. After a long, bloody struggle, we got freedom. They killed over 2,000 of our brothers. Countless people were injured, and many of them are still in the hospital. It has been nine months, and this murderous group has not been banned yet. This is unacceptable."

In a statement, Hefazat's Ameer Allama Muhibbullah Babunagari and Secretary General Allama Sajedur Rahman called on the party's leaders, activists, and students to remain on the streets until the AL is officially banned and held accountable for the mass killings during last year's July Uprising and the reported killings of the 2013 rally at Shapla Chattar.

Sarjis calls on BNP to join the movement

The NCP's Chief Organiser (North) Sarjis Alam has called on the BNP to join the movement.

"All political parties except BNP and its affiliates are now in Shahbagh. If BNP joins, it will re-establish the unity of July. A united Shahbagh awaits the BNP. Today's Shahbagh is part of history and the benchmark for future politics," he wrote in a Facebook post yesterday evening.

Govt mulls ban on AL

Amid the growing pressure, the government, in a statement yesterday, said it is seriously considering the call from various political parties, civil society groups, and the public to impose a ban on the Awami League over allegations of authoritarianism and involvement in violent activities.

Advisers of the interim government have also expressed support for AL's ban. Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, in a Facebook post, said AL as a political party can be banned if political parties want it or the judicial court gives any review or verdict on the matter.