July Charter without legal basis will be betrayal of the nation: Nahid Islam
National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam has said that the signing of the July Charter has been nothing but a formality.
Nahid Islam said, "We have said this before too and today repeated this. If this Charter has no legal basis, it will have no value or meaning. That is why we did not take part in this ceremony. If it has no legal basis, it will be a farce against the people, a betrayal of the nation."
These remarks were made by Nahid Islam at a press conference held today, Saturday, at 12 pm at the temporary office of the National Citizen Party (NCP) in Bangla Motor, Dhaka. NCP’s secretary general Akhtar Hossain and other senior party leaders were present at the event.
Even after the 1990 mass uprising, the political settlement that was supposed to unite the three party coalition was not maintained, Nahid Islam said.
He added that if important matters like the constitution are to be changed, a legal basis is necessary. He said, there are various attempts, both inside and outside the country, to prevent changes to the 1972 constitution and to keep the old fascist structure in place.
Commenting that some political parties have compromised under pressure from beneficiaries of the old fascist structure, NCP leader Nahid Islam accused forces of trying in many ways to preserve and keep that fascist framework intact.
Nahid Islam said it was precisely the pressure from the National Citizen Party, some other political parties, the students and the public who took part in the uprising that has pushed the government to form this Consensus Commission, to discuss the reform process and to bring things as far as the July Charter.
He said he does not want to see a repetition of the 1990 uprising in Bangladesh. “During the July popular uprising our understanding was that our struggle was not only against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League but against a fascist system. Therefore merely changing the political leadership will not solve Bangladesh’s democratic problems. We must go through this process of reform. Secondly, after the 1990 uprising the people were betrayed: national leaders and the political parties of that time ignored the aspirations of the people. We will not allow that to happen this time,” he added.
The convener of the NCP also spoke about the clashes between the police and the “July fighters” yesterday, Friday, before the signing ceremony of the July National Charter. He said the July fighters, and the families of martyrs were mistreated. He added that there was no reflection of the people’s aspirations at yesterday’s event.
Nahid Islam added that this will only happen when the sovereign intent of the students and citizens who participated in the July popular uprising is fulfilled, and Professor Muhammad Yunus establishes a legal basis for the July National Charter through an order, following which a referendum and the subsequently elected parliament and people’s council will draft a new constitution.
At the press conference, NCP secretary general Akhtar Hossain said that the NCP has taken to the streets demanding a legal basis for the July Charter. He said, “We played a strong role in the Consensus Commission, although in the beginning many political parties were not interested in giving the July Charter a legal foundation. They preferred to treat it merely as a gentleman’s agreement or a document of political understanding. NCP has demanded justice for the clash between the police and the “July fighters” yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon, after being removed from the stage at the July Charter signing ceremony at the South Plaza of the National Parliament Building, the “July fighters” clashed with police on Manik Mia Avenue. They vandalised several vehicles, including police buses, and set fire to the road. After two hours of back-and-forth chasing, the situation calmed down before the evening rain. At least 27 people from both sides were injured amid stone-throwing by protesters, baton charges by police, tear gas shelling, and sound grenades.
Despite various uncertainties, the new political settlement document, the July National Charter 2025, was ultimately signed. After long discussions with political parties, this charter, containing proposals for reforms in the constitution, election system, judiciary, and other areas of the state, was signed yesterday by 24 political parties and alliances, including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. In addition, the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, and members of the National Consensus Commission signed the charter.
However, NCP, formed by the youth who led the July uprising, did not attend the ceremony and did not sign the charter. Moreover, four leftist parties, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), BSD (Marxist), and Bangladesh JASAD—also did not sign. The Ganoforum was present at the event but did not sign either. However, parties may sign the charter later if they wish.