Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today called for maintaining national unity forged during the July-August Mass Uprising and pledged to build a just, democratic, and humane Bangladesh by ensuring the political and economic empowerment of the people.
In a message marking the 'July Mass Uprising Day' observed tomorrow (August 5), the premier said the day symbolizes 'joy, victory, and the restoration of democratic political rights' following the end of more than one and a half decades of fascist rule.
Tarique Rahman said the student-led mass uprising of August 5, 2024, forced the then government to flee the country, ending what he described as authoritarian rule and renewing the nation's hopes for democracy.
He recalled the anti-fascist movement, where the BNP, other anti-fascist political parties, and people from various walks of life endured enforced disappearances, killings, abductions, torture, false cases, and repression in their struggle to restore democracy and voting rights.
The prime minister alleged that secret detention centers, known as 'Aynaghar', were established across the country to silence dissent, while many political leaders and activists remained missing. He said the country's Constitutional and statutory institutions, including the judiciary and the Election Commission, had been rendered ineffective.
Tarique Rahman highlighted the broad-based participation in the July-August uprising, involving students, farmers, workers, rickshaw-pullers, day laborers, garment workers, hotel and restaurant employees, transport workers, journalists, intellectuals, cultural activists, professionals, women, and people from all sections of society.
He alleged that security forces opened fire on demonstrators, including from helicopters, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries. The premier paid tribute to the martyrs of the movement, describing their sacrifices as a lasting source of inspiration for the nation's democratic struggle.
On the occasion, Tarique Rahman urged the nation to honor the sacrifices of the martyrs by establishing equality, human dignity, and social justice and by building a self-reliant, democratic, and humane Bangladesh. He called on all pro-democracy political parties and citizens to safeguard national unity despite differences of opinion.
The prime minister vowed that autocracy, fascism, extremism, and militancy would never again be allowed to take root in Bangladesh, adding that the unity forged through the 2024 mass uprising would remain steadfast. Drawing a historical parallel, he said 1971 was the struggle to achieve independence, while 2024 was the struggle to safeguard the country's freedom and the rights of its people.
