Some Elements Trying to Create Chaos in Country, Says PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said some people had begun trying to create instability in Bangladesh, warning that such actions could inadvertently ease the return of a “fallen, defeated and fugitive autocrat”. He made the remarks in the morning at a discussion titled “July 36”, after formally inaugurating the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.

In his speech as chief guest, Tarique Rahman said he wanted to draw public attention to what he described as attempts to manufacture unnecessary issues in a “fascism-free Bangladesh” to create unrest in the country.

“I want to draw the attention of the people today to one issue... In a fascism-free Bangladesh, some people have started trying to create instability in the country by creating unnecessary issues. I urge them to consider whether, in creating these situations, they are unknowingly making the path easier for the resurgence of the fallen, defeated and fugitive autocrat,” he said.

Tarique Rahman said every incident involving deaths and injuries in the anti-fascist movement would be tried in stages and that justice would be transparent, impartial and credible.

“There will be justice for every incident involving those killed and injured in the anti-fascist movement. There will be no vindictive trials; justice will be carried out through due process of law and will be transparent, impartial and credible. The government believes that ensuring the rule of law requires justice for every crime,” he said.

The prime minister described 5 August as another epoch-making milestone in Bangladesh’s democratic history. He said that over more than one and a half decades of anti-fascist struggle, thousands of people were subjected to enforced disappearance and abduction, while hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes for years by torture, repression, attacks or false cases.

Tarique Rahman said that in the July-August mass uprising alone, thousands of students, ordinary people, women and children were martyred, and at least 30,000 people were injured.

He said the “fascist clique” had even fired from helicopters to stop the July-August mass uprising and kill pro-democracy citizens, calling such brutality by the “fallen, defeated and expelled fascists” rare in the civilised world.

Tarique Rahman said enforced disappearance, murder and abduction had been normalised during the fascist period of rule. He said the more than one-and-a-half decades of brutality could only be compared with what he described as the three-and-a-half years of misrule by the Awami League government after independence.

He said the historic July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum would present future generations with the courageous history of their predecessors and also expose the face of the ousted fascists.

Tarique Rahman said the expelled fascist forces had never accepted democratic rule in the country. He said their predecessors had changed the Constitution in 1975 and “buried democracy”, adding that later Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, whom he described as the proclaimer of Bangladesh’s independence, had restored multiparty democracy after assuming state responsibility.

Tarique Rahman said preserving such history in the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum would benefit future generations. He added that the museum should preserve not only the history of the July mass uprising but also the history of every democratic movement and struggle in Bangladesh.

He said the 1971 Liberation War had been for achieving independence, while the 2024 mass uprising had been for protecting the freedom of the country and its people. He said the public had not forgotten the freedom fighters and would likewise not forget those martyred in 2024 to protect the freedom of the country and its people.

Tarique Rahman said the government was sincere in supporting those killed and injured in the anti-fascist movement. He said injured “July fighters” were receiving free treatment at government hospitals, while those seriously wounded were being sent for advanced treatment, in accordance with rules, to Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Russia and other countries.

He said 50 “July fighters” were currently undergoing treatment abroad. He also said that more than 13,000 gazetted “July fighters” were receiving category-based monthly honorarium allowances directly into their own bank accounts.