The National Citizen Party (NCP), along with several other political parties and groups, Friday night announced blockade programmes and rallies to be held on Saturday at all ‘July Points’ in Dhaka and across the country.
These are the locations where protesters fought against the Awami League regime during the July–August uprising last year.
A major mass rally is also scheduled for 3:00pm at Shahbagh in the capital, where demonstrators have already begun a blockade demanding the banning of the Awami League and its affiliated wings, along with its trial as a political entity.
NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah announced the programme late on Friday night from the ongoing blockade at Shahbagh crossing.
Hasnat stated that the mass rally at Shahbagh would be joined by forces from the July uprising, individuals who were victims of AL’s alleged torture and oppression, survivors of the BDR and Shapla Square massacres, participants in the anti-Modi movement, and families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
He further announced that simultaneous mass rallies would be held at every ‘July Point’ across the country to press for a three-point demand: declaring the Awami League and all its affiliated organisations as terrorist groups and banning them; incorporating provisions in the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act to enable the trial of political parties such as the AL; and issuing a formal July Proclamation.
Earlier on Thursday night, students, political leaders and activists from various parties held a sit-in in front of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus’s official residence at Jamuna, responding to calls from NCP leaders Nahid Islam and Hasnat Abdullah.
Participants in the sit-in included students, individuals injured during the July uprising, and activists from a wide range of political and religious organisations, including 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 Amar Bangladesh Party.
Following Jumma prayers on Friday, the protesters held a rally near Jamuna before marching to join the ongoing blockade programme at Shahbagh.
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