DHAKA — Conspiracies are underway to undermine the spirit of the July uprising, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Dr. Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said Sunday, calling on the public to identify and resist those he described as betrayers.
“A smell of betrayal is coming from those who are reaping the harvest of July,” Taher said. “These betrayers must be identified, resisted and pushed out from the seat of power.”
He was speaking as chief guest at a prize-giving ceremony for the “Student-People’s Uprising 2024” memoir-writing competition organized by Islami Chhatra Shibir at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Sunday afternoon.
Taher said the government must carry out every reform needed to free the country of corruption, build a sound political culture, ensure free elections and protect independence and sovereignty. Otherwise, he said, history will mark its members as betrayers of the people and the martyrs.
“Those obstructing reform do not want reform. Those who do not feel the legal basis for reform are the ones opposed to elections. They want to derail the polls and pull Bangladesh back into the wreckage of the past 15 years through any kind of election,” he said.
He urged the government to undertake reforms wherever needed without hesitation, saying the public would not accept the argument that one party agrees while another does not.
Taher said large-scale conspiracies are underway to erase the spirit of the uprising and overturn the state structure. “Conspirators have always existed and will continue to. There is no reason to panic, but we should be alarmed about betrayers — not conspirators — because betrayal by trusted people is hardest to counter,” he said.
The Jamaat leader said the party had clearly stated three demands: reform, visible justice for the killers and accused, and then elections. “We want elections, but not any kind of election. We do not want Hasina-style looting or center-capture polls. We do not want elections held at night instead of day,” he said. He also urged the government to provide proper compensation and rehabilitation for the families of martyrs and the wounded.
Chhatra Shibir President Jahidul Islam, presiding, said July must be carried from one generation to the next and should not be distorted. He expressed frustration at the slow pace of trials for last year’s mass killings, demanding they be expedited. He said political parties were failing to carry forward the spirit of July in running the state.
Shibir Secretary General Nurul Islam Saddam, families of martyrs, July fighters and other dignitaries also spoke. Fifty winners of the memoir-writing competition received prizes at the event.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report