Bangladesh: Awami League slams Yunus regime's decision not to observe National Mourning Day

Dhaka, Aug 14 (IANS) Bangladesh's Awami League on Thursday slammed the Muhhamad Yunus-led interim government for not commemorating the 50th death anniversary of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, Friday and for warning people against organising any event.

The party had announced that it would observe August 15 as National Mourning Day, commemorating the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and several members of his family.

It said that the "fascist" Yunus regime is stripping the people of their rights and freedom of speech by not allowing them to commemorate the death anniversary of the Father of the Nation.

"15 August is National Mourning Day -- a day of grief, heavy with the most heinous and brutal assassination in the history of human civilisation. On this day in 1975, the reactionary killers, enemies of humanity, assassinated Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- the great leader of Bangladesh's liberation movement, the champion of the oppressed and deprived people of the world, the cherished figure of Bengalis for a thousand years, the eternal source of inspiration for the nation, the architect of an independent Bangladesh, and the Greatest Bengali of all time -- along with most members of his family," read a statement issued by the Awami League.

Terming August as an "ill-fated month" for Bangladesh, the party noted that in the same month, the barbaric grenade attack occurred in Dhaka on August 21, 2004, and nationwide serial bomb blasts took place on August 17, 2005.

Additionally, it stated that in August 2024, the "anti-liberation and anti-national forces -- nourished by Pakistani ideology -- illegally seized state power through deep domestic and foreign conspiracies."

Slamming the interim government for "illegally" taking over power, the party stated that the Muhammad Yunus regime "derailed a prospering Bangladesh and closed all doors of opportunity."

It urged people to turn their grief into strength and vowed to free Bangladesh from its "current state of captivity".

"The demonic killers of 15 August 1975 did not stop at murdering Bangabandhu. They enacted the shameful Indemnity Ordinance to halt the trial process of the assassination," the party stated.

The Awami League further asserted that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, through establishing the rule of law, ensured justice for the killers. Despite conspiracies and adversities, the party stated that Hasina also initiated the trial process of heinous war criminals through the establishment of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

However, in revenge, the party said that "the anti-liberation and anti-people, murderous fascist Yunus clique illegally restructured the ICT to stage a mock trial" against Hasina, along with other leaders.

"Violating the sacred Constitution -- written in the blood of millions of martyrs -- the murderous fascist Yunus clique has unlawfully usurped state power, stripping the people of their rights and freedom of speech. They have even declared that they will not allow the observance of National Mourning Day on Bangabandhu's martyrdom anniversary, and that anyone who does will be arrested," the party stated.

"They have established a reign of fear across the country. Against this wall of fear created by anti-people forces, we must strike with the power of ideals and courage. By turning the grief of August into strength and lighting the torch of resistance, we must bring forth the dawn of new possibilities," it added.

The Awami League called upon its allies, fraternal organisations, and various socio-cultural and political groups, both in the country and abroad, to observe National Mourning Day on Friday with due "dignity, respect, and love, in a solemn and grief-stricken atmosphere".

--IANS

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