Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon on Saturday said preserving photographic documentation of the July 2024 mass uprising is essential to safeguarding the country's elected government.
Speaking at a discussion and photo exhibition titled "Uprising of '24" at the Jatiya Press Club, held to mark the second anniversary of the uprising, Swapon said the visual records of the movement would help preserve its history and strengthen public understanding of its significance.
"The more documents of this struggle come forward, the more we must preserve this government, the government of Tarique Rahman, the elected government," he said.
The event was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Photo Journalists' Association (BPJA) and Amra BNP Poribar.
Swapon said the exhibition would help people understand the sacrifices made during the movement and the achievements that followed.
"We cannot afford to lose the fruits of this struggle or the government of today's elected Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman," he said.
The minister credited the generation that led the July uprising to the political environment fostered under BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia since the 1990s.
"The child who grew up in that atmosphere of struggle under Begum Khaleda Zia's leadership later became the fiery youth of July '24," he said.
Swapon also said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman played a leadership role in different phases of the movement after becoming BNP's acting chairman, mobilizing protesters with slogans including, "If you are afraid, you are finished; if you stand up and resist, you are Bangladesh," and later, "Which way the country goes will be decided on the streets."
"And finally, on August 5, it was decided on the streets," he said. "The day the streets delivered their verdict, it was proven, in the face of bullets, that the days of fascism were over."
Referring to the post-uprising period, Swapon said the movement to oust what he described as "fascism" had ended and that the government's focus was now on nation-building.
"Agitation can be a profession for some, but for us it is about voting rights, democratic consciousness, and building an independent, self-reliant, sovereign Bangladesh. We have concluded that movement. Now our task is nation-building," he said.
The minister said the government would seek to resolve disputes through dialogue but would act firmly if necessary.
"If the arm needs to be twisted, in the interest of the state, the country, the nation and the people, the government can certainly do that," he said, adding that it would "try until the last moment" to resolve issues peacefully.
Prime Minister's Additional Press Secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon chaired the program. Among those present were Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Secretary General Quader Gani Chowdhury, Jatiya Press Club President Hasan Hafiz, BPJA President AKM Mohsin, BPJA General Secretary Babul Talukder, and the prime minister's Deputy Press Secretary Zahidul Islam Rony.
