Gono Odhikar Parishad has announced a nationwide sit-in and mass signature campaign, including in Dhaka, demanding a ban on the Awami League and justice for alleged mass killings.
The party's President Nurul Haque Nur made the announcement during a protest rally in front of the party's central office on Friday.
Speaking at the rally, Nurul Haque Nur claimed that after the recent political shift, many parties were trying to protect the Awami League due to their greed for illicit money.
He also criticized leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement who led the July-August protests, accusing them of lobbying to place Awami League affiliates in key government positions while blaming the army and the administration for the current situation.
"Those who have formed parties with state privileges now aspire to become fascist organizations like Sheikh Hasina’s party," Nur said.
Nur further alleged that certain so-called intellectuals were assisting those who aim to create division and anarchy in the country.
He questioned why the military was being positioned against the people after the 2024 mass uprising, saying: "If the military had not supported the people, the country would have fallen into civil war."
He warned that some individuals were deliberately downplaying the military’s role in the uprising to create further instability.
Gono Odhikar Parishad’s General Secretary Md Rashed Khan echoed the call to ban the Awami League, saying: "There is no need for a new national consensus on this matter. The people have already given their verdict on August 5—Awami League can no longer do politics in this country.”
He added: “There is no room for their rehabilitation, as doing so would betray the blood of the martyrs, and we will not let that happen."
Notably, during a meeting with a delegation from the International Crisis Group on Thursday, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said that the interim government has no plans to ban the Awami League.
However, he affirmed that individuals within the party accused of murder and crimes against humanity would face trial in court.
Reacting to this, Rashed Khan strongly rejected Yunus’s statement, demanding its withdrawal within 24 hours. "After the mass uprising, the country needed a consensus government, but instead, an administration was formed with an NGO figurehead and elderly leaders who, even after seven months, have failed to take a decision on the Awami League," he said.
"Now they are saying that whether or not to participate in elections is the party’s decision. But a party responsible for mass killings cannot contest elections under any circumstances,” he added.
"The government must engage in a national dialogue to determine the fate of the Awami League. Not just the next election—Awami League must be barred from all future elections."
