“1971 was a war to achieve independence and 2024 was a war to protect independence. Bangladesh has not forgotten the martyred freedom fighters of 1971. Bangladesh will not forget the martyrs of the 1924 mass uprising”-BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman said it during video addressing to nation.
Tarique Rahman stated, “August 5, exactly one year ago today, on this day in 2024, the fascists fled Bangladesh. Bangladesh has become free from tyranny. This day of joy for the freedom-loving, democracy-loving people. This is a day of victory. The interim government has declared this day as the ‘July Mass Uprising Day’. The people of Bangladesh, free from oppression, will enjoy this day as a public holiday every year freely and happily. They will be inspired by a new commitment to practicing freedom and democratic political rights”.
He also addresses, “In this 21st century Bangladesh, the fugitive dictatorship had established a reign of terror. The country had transformed place of disappearances, murders, kidnappings, assaults, cases, torture, and oppression into common and normal events everyday. During the movement against this fascism that lasted for more than a decade and a half, the country was turned into hell for millions of leaders and activists of pro-democracy forces of different parties and opinions, including the BNP. Due to hundreds of false cases, millions of leaders and activists of different parties and opinions were evicted from their homes. The family ties of many were severed”
“Hundreds of secret prisons, ‘mirror houses’, were built in the country on the orders of the fugitive dictatorship to silence the voices of people who wanted democracy. People were kept in the dark cells of those mirror houses day after day, night after night, year after year. Many have disappeared forever. Former BNP MP Elias Ali or Commissioner Chowdhury Alam have not been found to this day” he also stated.
He also said, “All the constitutional institutions of the country, including the judiciary and the Election Commission, were rendered ineffective. The electoral system was turned into a farce by taking away the right to vote of the people, ignoring the constitution. All the formalities to destroy the country’s education system to turn the country into a state of slavery forever were almost finalized. Instead of books, notebooks and pens, students were given sticks, chairs, hammers and slaps in the name of politics”.
He added the economic aspect, “The country’s economy was devastated. Banks were bankrupted. 28 lakh crore taka was laundered from the country. Injustice, irregularities, lawlessness, corruption and looting became a daily occurrence. Individualism was established in the country”
Tarique Rahman warns, ” the fascists were not defeated. People from all classes and professions of the country, students, farmers, workers, rickshaw pullers, unskilled laborers, garment workers, hotel and restaurant workers, transport workers, journalists, intellectuals, cultural activists, housewives, women and children, and even our mothers, all united and took to the streets in the July-August mass uprising. People were shot dead from helicopters to suppress the mass uprising. Children in our laps, martyrs Abu Sayeed, Wasim, Mugdho, these brave children of ours were shot in the chest and martyred”
He explained, “more than 1,500 people were martyred in the July-August 2024 mass uprising alone. No one was spared from the bullets of students, farmers, workers, women, children, and the elderly, journalists, laborers, professionals, and fascists. At least 30,000 people were injured in this uprising. Hundreds of our children, hundreds of brothers and sisters have lost their hands, feet and body parts and have become permanently paralyzed or have lost their eyes and become blind for life.
Tarique Rahman marks during address ” I say, 1971 was a war to achieve independence and 2024 was a war to protect independence. Bangladesh has not forgotten the martyred freedom fighters of 1971. Bangladesh will not forget the martyrs of the 1924 mass uprising either. From 1971 to today, millions of people have been martyred in every corner of history in achieving independence for the country and people, protecting independence, anti-dictatorship and anti-fascist movements, and movements to re-establish democracy. On this day, I once again remember the contribution of all the martyrs with respect. I pray to Allah for the speedy recovery of the injured”
“The martyrs have made us indebted by sacrificing their lives to establish the independence and rights of the country and people. Now it is our turn to repay our debt to the martyrs. Bangladesh is indebted to the families of the martyrs. We can repay the debt to the martyrs only by establishing a just, democratic, humane Bangladesh by ensuring the political and economic empowerment of the people in the country and establishing equality, human dignity and social justice” -The acting chairman said at the end of address,
