Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and opposition leader Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said the sacrifice of those killed in the July uprising was meant to build a Bangladesh founded on democracy, justice and equality, but that goal has not yet been fully achieved.
In a Facebook message marking July Uprising Day on Wednesday, Rahman said people must work together so that the deaths of those killed in the movement are not in vain.
He described Aug. 5 as a memorable chapter in Bangladesh’s national history, saying teachers, students, parents, young people, children, older people, civil-society groups and people from different professions had taken to the streets behind a common demand.
Rahman said the student movement developed into a one-point campaign for the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. He alleged that security forces fired indiscriminately on protesters, while people continued the movement despite shootings, bombs and repression.
He said Hasina left for India on Aug. 5, 2024, after the mass uprising, ending what he called more than 16 and a half years of authoritarian rule.
Rahman said about 1,500 people were killed and about 30,000 injured by gunfire from police, RAB, parts of the military and Border Guard Bangladesh, and that thousands were permanently disabled. Those figures were his account and were not independently verified in the statement.
He paid tribute to Abu Sayed, Mugdha, Wasim and others killed in the movement, and expressed sympathy for injured people, those left disabled and bereaved families.
Rahman said Bangladesh must establish full democracy, good governance and social justice to honor their sacrifice, and called on people to put aside past divisions and work for a peaceful, prosperous, humane and sovereign country.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report