A Facebook post by former interim government adviser Mahfuj Alam claiming that the Awami League—which had its activities banned after the July mass uprising—has effectively “come back” into Bangladeshi politics has sparked wide discussion and criticism.
Some people, centering on the post, have brought up allegations of financial scandals involving certain former advisers of the interim government. Others have questioned why Mahfuj Alam did not resign from the interim government at the time if he is now criticising that same government.
Mahfuj Alam made the Facebook post about the return of the Awami League at a time when leaders and activists of the party and its affiliated organisations have been discussing the “Return 2.0” of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted from power during the July uprising, on social media. In addition, some Indian media outlets have recently published interviews with Sheikh Hasina.
On the same day Mahfuj Alam made the Facebook post about the Awami League’s return, adviser on Information and Broadcasting Affairs to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Zahed Ur Rahman, said during a regular press briefing organised by the Ministry of Information at the Secretariat, “We will also ensure justice for Sheikh Hasina. If Sheikh Hasina returns to Bangladesh, we will not subject her to any extrajudicial action.”
Following Mahfuj Alam’s post last night, senior leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP), who were once his political allies, have been trying to understand his current position. Mahfuj, a former member of the liaison committee of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement that led the July mass uprising, did not join the NCP. Instead, he formed a new political platform called “Alternatives.” He has been trying to organise this platform since its launch last March.
In the Awami League-related post published on Facebook after 10:00 pm yesterday Wednesday, Mahfuj Alam wrote, “The League is not merely a political party; it is a theology, and faith in that theology has returned. Today I will tell the story of how it returned.” He then presented a long list describing how the Awami League had returned. The post went viral on Facebook. By 6 pm today Wednesday, more than 17,000 Facebook users had reacted to it. Many others also posted responses discussing Mahfuj’s arguments.
Several people also commented directly beneath Mahfuj’s post. Sheikh Tasnim Afroze (Emi), recently released after spending two months in jail over a program to play the 7 March speech on loudspeakers in front of Shahbagh Police Station, wrote in the comments: “The League came back the day you went to demolish House 32. The League came back the day five people were killed in Gopalganj because of the NCP. These two points were left out.”
Former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and current leader of the Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, Abu Bakar Majumder, wrote, “The issue of financial scandals involving some advisers was missed, brother. You could have added that.”
Member of the Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, commented on Mahfuj’s post, “You yourself were part of that the interim government you are criticising now. Why did you not resign? When you saw the interim government patronising extreme right-wing forces, you could at least have honestly stepped down, acknowledging your failure to stop it. You lost your credibility by not doing that.”
Mahfuj Alam did not respond to these comments. However, he did reply to a comment by Numan Ahmad Chowdhury, a central council member of the Network for Peoples Action (NPA).
Numan had written, “The League came back the day a vague concept was called Mujib-bad Mujibism and then the word ‘murdabad’ was added afterward. The League came back the day people who spoke truth against power were labeled as Mujib-badi leftists and made targets for elimination.”
In response, Mahfuj said, “No brother, Mujibism is real, not vague. And Mujibist left means BAKSAL-style leftists—that is also reality. If the League returns, it will return through the alliance between Mujibist leftists and the far right.”
After Mahfuj’s post, many others also wrote on Facebook about the return of the Awami League. Former interim government law adviser Asif Nazrul wrote, “The Awami League has not come back; they were already there. What has come back is their arrogance, falsehoods, and audacity to mislead people.”
Former member of the Constitution Reform Commission Firoz Ahmed wrote in a lengthy post: “The League will not return. But the old arrangement that made people desperate to remove the League has returned. The old arrangement has returned by turning into pawns those through whom people took over the streets in July.”
Mahfuj Alam’s explanation
After the Facebook post about the Awami League’s return went viral, Mahfuj Alam provided an explanation in another post late last night.
In the second post, he wrote, “For those who have read the previous post as an analysis, I want to say this: our current task is to stand against all oppression and on the side of the oppressed. To stand for the human rights of all Bangladeshi citizens regardless of party, opinion, or religion. To defeat reckless, extremist, and sabotage-oriented politics.”
Mahfuj Alam said demands for justice over attacks on minorities and followers of shrines must continue. He also emphasised prioritising justice for the July massacre while simultaneously opposing human rights violations in the process of ensuring justice.
Mahfuj Alam supports compelling the current government to implement institutional reforms. He said, “We must practice and celebrate Bengal’s many languages and cultures and refuse to give space to regressive and defeatist cultural struggles. We must embrace those who stood with July from various intellectual and cultural backgrounds. These are the people targeted by the League’s fascists.”
On the same issue, Mahfuj further wrote, “Everyone should build as many democratic institutions and organisations as possible from their own positions. A common space or language of anti-fascist struggle must be created among all forces supporting July. The history of sabotage must be kept in mind. The narrative of July and the democratic struggles of the past 16 years must be made central against attempts to normalise the League’s theology and discourse. Those League fascists who are trying to make the last one and a half years appear worse than the 16 years of fascism in order to make people forget the crimes of fascist Hasina must be resisted.”
Mahfuj Alam also called for compelling the government to resolve the livelihood crises of farmers, workers, the lower middle class, and the middle class through economic reform and reconstruction. At the same time, he urged people to speak out against the deterioration of law and order.
He further said the fight must continue for affordable healthcare for all citizens by abandoning blame politics and avoiding disorder and lack of coordination in the healthcare system. He also noted that all efforts to monopolise and divide the spirit of July under the banner of a single ideology must be defeated.