Legal experts and political activists have cautioned that uprising leaders may face significant risks in the coming days if the proclamation of the July mass uprising is not issued shortly.
Speaking at a discussion titled ‘New Political Settlement: July Proclamation, Constituent Assembly, and Constitution’, they also warned that the revolutionaries or the uprising leaders might be hanged at a certain point in future. The Supreme Court wing of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee organised the discussion at the Supreme Court bar association auditorium on Tuesday.
Addressing the programme as the chief guest, former Supreme Court justice AFM Abdur Rahman said a revolutionary council usually takes over through a proclamation after a revolution. Every revolution in the world gave rise to a new legal order. But the July uprising in Bangladesh was followed by no such proclamation.
He warned that the failure to issue a proclamation may invite severe dangers in the days ahead. “Till date, the concept of interim government is based on the article 106 of the constitution. But it is not actually a base for the interim government. There must be a proclamation.”
He further said, “If they (ousted Awami League government) return to power, won’t they hang you? Or love you? They will surely hang you.”
Akhter Hossain, member secretary of the Nagorik Committee, underscored the need for a proclamation and expressed concerns over the government’s delay in acting on its earlier decision over issuing the proclamation.
He recalled that when it was decided to announce the proclamation at the central Shaheed Minar on 31 December, under an initiative of the Students Against Discrimination, the government disclosed its intention to announce the proclamation on its own, through a consensus of all political parties and groups.
“Only a single day left for the deadline (15 January), but there has been no visible action from the government in this regard,” he said, adding they will make further decisions as per the statement of the government.
Meanwhile, adviser Mahfuj Alam told the media on Tuesday that the government will hold an all-party meeting on Thursday, for finalising the July proclamation.
Other speakers at the discussion echoed the need for swift action to have a proclamation. Nagorik Committee joint convener Sarwar Tushar pointed to the progress in Sri Lanka following an uprising as an example and called for a collaborative approach among political parties, civil society, and student leaders.
Senior lawyer Mohammad Hossain said it would be a great failure if the forces who toppled an autocracy do not coordinate to build a nation.
AB Party general secretary Asaduzzaman Fuad criticised the interim government for its failure to make a complete list of martyrs. He also noted that most of the advisers were not a part of the mass-uprising. They did not shed their blood, did not protest; rather they were mostly part of the pro-Awami League civic groups.
Rastra Sanskar Andolan’s chief coordinator Hasnat Qayyum noted the historical significance of proclamations as it establishes the authority of revolutionaries while rejecting the legitimacy of the previous regime. He also laid emphasis on ensuring a proclamation’s acceptability among all.
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