If Liberation War not accepted, then Bangladesh itself would be denied: Jamaat leader Azad
Jamaat-e-Islami’s Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said that if the Liberation War is not accepted, then Bangladesh itself would effectively be denied.
He made the remark today, Sunday afternoon, while briefing reporters after a meeting between leaders of political parties and the National Consensus Commission at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.
Answering a question, Jamaat leader Hamidur Rahman Azad said, “We have been doing politics following Bangladesh’s legal and constitutional processes. We have repeatedly said that the Liberation War is our achievement; everyone is doing politics accepting Bangladesh, so are we. So there is no room to drag up old issues. If the Liberation War is not acknowledged, then Bangladesh will effectively be denied.”
He remarked that if the legal basis for the July Charter is established and a national election is held in that light, that election would be acceptable.
“We are talking about a credible election in the days ahead — a fair election, the best in the country’s history — all of that will be possible if the July Charter is given a legal basis. We have also said we want an election in February. The election must be held in February. The July Charter must be given a legal basis and an election must be held on that basis,” he added.
On implementation of the July Charter, Hamidur Rahman Azad said it would be recognised as an official state document. He said, “If this does not come through a legal process then it will not be recognised as state evidence or a document. Then the dream we have for the future of Bangladesh — good governance, justice, democracy, accountability, a welfare-oriented state; reforming and thoroughly cleaning up the remnants of the old fascist period and starting a new journey — for that there is no alternative to giving the July Charter a legal basis.”
Raising the question of how the July Charter’s legal basis would be formed, he answered it himself.
“We have said the July Charter must be implemented with a strong legal basis so that later the charter is not left open to challenge, so there is no opportunity to challenge it and annul it,” he said.
Hamidur Rahman Azad noted that Article 7 of the Constitution speaks of the sovereign will of the people. If, on that basis, this constitutional order is enacted, it will be the strongest possible. After the government does this, it can further strengthen it. If it is put to a referendum (plebiscite), there will be no opening at all for even the tiniest gap. There will be no legal challenge or other way to contest it. Jamaat has proposed this.