The interim government on Saturday night banned all activities of the Bangladesh Awami League until trial of the party and its leaders by the International Crimes Tribunal amid mounting protests led by student groups and political activists demanding ban on and trial of the party.
The decision was made during a special session of the advisory council, chaired by chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, at his official residence Jamuna in the capital.
The meeting also approved amendments to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, empwering it to hold trial of any political party and its affiliated organisations.
The amendment now has the scope to bring any political party and its affiliated organisations under trial, said law adviser Asif Nazrul at a press briefing following the meeting.
He added that under the Anti-Terrorism Act, all activities of the Awami League 鈥� including those in cyberspace 鈥� would remain banned until the completion of the trials of the party and its leaders at the International Crimes Tribunal.
According to a statement from the chief adviser鈥檚 press office, the decision was made 鈥榯o protect national security and sovereignty, ensure the safety of July movement activists, and safeguard plaintiffs and witnesses engaged in ongoing trials.鈥�
Besides, the council of advisers also decided to publish the July declaration within the next 30 working days, said a statement shared by the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing.
The ban comes amid rising protests that began at Shahbagh on Thursday night and then spread across Dhaka and to other parts of the country.
Demonstrators, led by National Citizen Party leaders Nahid Islam and Hasnat Abdullah, first gathered outside the chief adviser鈥檚 residence before moving to Shahbagh, a hub of political mobilisation in Dhaka.
The protesters put forward a series of demands. They called for the Awami League and its affiliated bodies to be declared terrorist organisations and banned, for the International Crimes Tribunal Act to be amended to prosecute political parties as collective entities, and for the immediate issuance of a formal 鈥楯uly Proclamation鈥�.
The advisory council responded by announcing that the July Declaration would be finalised and made public within the next 30 working days.
The protests drew widespread participation by students, victims of political violence, and activists from a wide ideological spectrum.
Groups represented at the rallies included the Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, Islami Chhatra Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Inquilab Mancha, Hefazat-e Islam Bangladesh, Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, and the Amar Bangladesh Party.
Immediately after the announcement of the government decisions, one of the key organisers of the protest, Hasnat Abdullah, in a Facebook post called upon the protesters not to leave streets until they give their opinion formally in this regard.
The National Citizen Party, along with several other political parties and groups, continued their blockade at the Shahbagh crossing in Dhaka for the second day on Saturday demanding trial of the Awami League, ban on the party, and the proclamation of a July charter.
Protest demonstrations, with the same demands, were also held in other cities and places, including Sylhet, Thakurgaon and Mawa on the day.
Giving the government a one-hour ultimatum from the Shahbagh rally at about 8:00pm, Hasnat announced that the protesters will hold a 鈥楳arch to Jamuna鈥� under the banner of Anti-fascist National Unity if the government did not announce a clear road map for banning the AL within that time.
A group of protesters at about 9:00pm staged the Jamuna march and then took position in front of the police barricade beside InterContinental Dhaka Hotel near Jamuna, where the council of advisers sat in an emergency meeting with the chief adviser in the chair.
The blockade continued at 11:00pm on Saturday when this report was being filed.
The demonstration as usual halted vehicular movement on the adjacent thoroughfares, causing tailbacks in the surrounding areas as police diverted vehicles at different places.
The protesters at the pre-announced Shahbagh rally reiterated the demand for the trial of and ban on the AL, citing its involvement in killings during the July mass uprising, and in the earlier BDR carnage, Shapla Square massacre, and the enforced disappearances carried out over its 15-year fascist rule.
Addressing the rally, NCP member secretary Akhtar Hossain said, 鈥楾he Awami League must be declared a terrorist organisation and it should be banned immediately. It must be tried as a party by incorporating a provision into the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act to enable the trial of any organisation involved such crimes. Besides, a July charter must be issued immediately.鈥�
About the troubling city traffic situation amid the Shahbagh blockade, Dhaka Metropolitan Police officials said they had already taken measures to mitigate public sufferings.
鈥榃e have diverted vehicles at different places, including Banglamotor, Katabon, and Matsya Bhaban to mitigate people鈥檚 sufferings,鈥� said Dhaka Metropolitan Police division鈥檚 deputy commissioner for traffic Md Shafiqul Islam.聽聽
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki and its executive coordinator Abul Hassan Rubel on Saturday issued a statement to demand trial of the AL as a party for carrying out massacres during the July uprising, suppressing people鈥檚 voice, depriving people from voting rights, and its involvement in enforced disappearances during its 15-year fascist rule.
Ganosamhati also announced a protest rally to be held in front of the National Press Club in the capital at 4:00pm on Sunday to press home the demands.
Earlier on Thursday night, students, political leaders and activists from different parties and organisations held demonstrations near the chief adviser鈥檚 residence Jamuna, responding to calls from NCP leaders Nahid Islam and Hasnat Abdullah for demonstrations.
Established on June 23, 1949 as the Awami Muslim League at Rose Garden in the capital鈥檚 Old Town, later the party was renamed as the Bangladesh Awami League.
The party led the War of Independence in 1971.
The student-led July 2024 mass uprising forced the ouster of the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 for shelter.
Almost all senior AL leaders, including the party president Sheikh Hasina, have been facing ICT cases over a genocide committed during the July uprising.
