After the July Massacre, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled in the face of public resistance.
Declaring her, her party Awami League, and its allied political parties as fascist, students staging a mass sit-in at the Raju Memorial Sculpture of Dhaka University have released a list of ministers, advisors, and MPs.
They have demanded the arrest of those on the list and their sentencing to 7 to 14 years in prison, along with the cancellation of their right to contest elections.
The list was announced on Saturday, February 22, marking the tenth day of the sit-in.
The announcement was made by Fazlur Rahman, the Member Secretary of the Revolutionary Student Council and a student of Dhaka University.
He stated, “We have presented five demands from this mass sit-in to eliminate fascism. As part of the third demand, we are releasing the list of fascist ministers, advisors, and MPs today.”
Fazlur Rahman further declared, “We officially recognize all cabinet members and advisors of the Awami League regime from 2009 to 2024 as fascist terrorists. We demand that all of them be arrested and sentenced to 7 to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment as fascists.
The hardcore fascist ministers should receive 14 years, while those who were less controversial but still served in Hasina’s cabinet should receive 7 years. None of them will be allowed to participate in elections, appear in public forums, or speak in the media and social platforms.”
He also reiterated the demand for the arrest and trial of all ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, and advisors named in the list.
Presence of Political Leaders During the Announcement
Several political figures were present at the time of the announcement, including:
Md. Shafiur Rahman, Organizational Head of the National Revolutionary Council
Hasan Mohammad Arif, Member Secretary
Dr. Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Joint Convener
Galib Ihsan and Abdus Salam, Assistant Member Secretaries
Mahmudul Hasan Faisal, Member
Also present were:
Abdul Wahed, Convener of the Revolutionary Student Council
Fazlur Rahman, Member Secretary
Ashraful Islam, Assistant Member Secretary
Md. Ariful Islam, Convener of the Bangladesh Islamic University branch
Md. Farhad Ahmad Ali, Member Secretary of the Bangladesh Islamic University branch
Background of the Protest Movement
The sit-in protest at the Raju Memorial Sculpture began on February 13 with a hunger strike by Md. Omar Faruq and Abu Sayeed, leaders of the Dhaka University branch of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (Nationalist Student Party). On February 15, members of the Revolutionary Student Council joined the hunger strike.
On February 16, the family of Shaheed Rana Talukder from Uttara expressed solidarity and called for the movement to continue until the Awami League is banned. At their request, the hunger strike was replaced with a continuous mass sit-in protest.
On February 19, in a press conference, Revolutionary Student Council Convener Abdul Wahed presented five key demands:
Ban the fascist Awami League, its allied 14-party alliance, Grand Alliance, and all their affiliated organizations.
Seize all offices and properties of fascist parties and organizations and use them to rehabilitate victims of oppression during the fascist era.
Declare Sheikh Hasina, her cabinet members, all MPs, and all district council chairmen and members as designated fascists, issue arrest warrants, and bring them to trial.
Ban all neo-fascist organizations or any groups with a similar ideology that emerge in the future.
Amend the Constitution to prohibit political, social, and cultural organizations based on fascist ideologies.
