State Minister for Land and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Barrister Mir Mohammed Helal Uddin, said it is both inaccurate and misleading to portray the July-August 2024 mass uprising as the achievement of any single individual or group.
"No one can claim ownership of this mass uprising. It belongs to the 18 crore people of Bangladesh," he said.
He said the true outcome of the mass uprising was realized when the people resolved that they would no longer tolerate oppression and that the authoritarian government had to be removed.
He made the remarks while addressing a discussion titled "Fascism, July Revolution and Today's Bangladesh" as the chief guest at the July Memorial Hall of the Chittagong Press Club on Friday afternoon.
The discussion was jointly organized by the Chittagong Press Club and the Chittagong Metropolitan Union of Journalists (CMUJ).
City BNP Convener Ershad Ullah, MP, and Abu Sufian, MP, among others, addressed the event as special guests.
He said Bangladesh had been heavily burdened by the Awami League's 15 years of misrule, during which BNP leaders and activists were subjected to enforced disappearances, severe torture, and false cases.
He added that people from various professions, including journalists with dissenting views, also faced repression, ultimately leading to the July-August mass uprising as a response to years of oppression.
Mir Helal said the uprising was not intended to bring anyone to state power or government; rather, it was fought to establish Bangladesh as a truly independent and sovereign nation.
Zahidul Karim Kachi, president of the Chittagong Press Club, delivered the welcome address. The discussion was moderated by the club's General Secretary Golam Mawla Murad and Joint Secretary Meah Mohammed Arif.
CMUJ President Mohammad Shah Nawaz presided over the event.
Among others, Chittagong University Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Al-Forkan, Premier University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nasrul Quadir, Chittagong Development Authority Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain, Chittagong City BNP Joint Convener MA Aziz, Chittagong District Bar Association President Advocate Tarique Ahmed, Press Club Vice President Mustafa Nayyem, Chittagong Metropolitan Union of Journalists General Secretary Saleh Noman, and Advocate Abdus Sattar, an injured July uprising participant and former president of the Chittagong District Bar Association, also spoke at the program.
