Jamaat announces new progs for 1-12 October

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has announced a set of programmes to be held between 1 and 12 October, pressing for five key demands, including the holding the next parliamentary election in February on the basis of the July National Charter.

Earlier, the party had declared a three-day programme in September in pursuit of the same demands.

The fresh programme was announced today, Tuesday afternoon, at a press conference held at Al-Falah Auditorium of Jamaat’s central office in the capital’s Moghbazar area.

The announcement was made by the party’s secretary general Mia Golam Porwar.

The press conference had been convened to outline the next phase of the movement centred on Jamaat’s five-point demands.

The programmes Jamaat announced are as follows:

• Nationwide mass rally from 1 October to 9 October to build public opinion in support of its five-point demand;

• Meetings to exchange views;

• Roundtables;

• Seminars, and other events.

In addition, the programmes include mass processions in the capital and all divisional cities on 10 October, and the submission of memorandums to deputy commissioners across the country on 12 October.

The five demands behind the programme are:

• Holding elections in February based on the July National Charter;

• Introducing the proportional representation (PR) system in both houses in the next national elections;

• Ensuring a level playing field for all to guarantee free, fair, and credible elections;

• Making the trial of all the repression, killings, and corruption in the fascist regime visible;

• Banning the activities of the fascist’s ally Jatiya Party and the 14-party alliance.

Jamaat’s secretary general Mia Golam Porwar read out a written statement at the press conference.

It stated that Jamaat-e-Islami has been playing an active role in pushing for a legal foundation for the July Charter.

Referring to various past precedents and examples as a ‘doctrine of necessity’ during a national crisis, Jamaat has repeatedly expressed its position on the legal basis of the July Charter.

To this end, Jamaat has already submitted two proposals to the government based on the opinions of legal and constitutional experts to provide legal grounding for the charter.

The first is to issue a ‘constitutional order’ for the July National Charter. And second is to hold a referendum before the election to further strengthen its legal basis and implement the July Charter.

The statement warned that without a legal foundation, the July Charter, an achievement gained through the blood of students and the people in the uprising, could end in failure.

Jamaat further said the government is not taking any steps to implement the people’s demands. The party added that its previously declared five-point demand has been accepted by the people as rational.

So, Jamaat called on the government to accept the five-point demand supported by the public and hold the 13th national parliamentary elections in February based on the July Charter.

Among others, Jamaat’s assistant secretary generals Abdul Halim and Hamidur Rahman Azad, central executive member Saiful Alam Khan, head of media and publicity Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer, and ameer of Dhaka south city unit Nurul Islam Bulbul were resent at the press conference.