On the first anniversary of the ouster of autocratic Sheikh Hasina, Interim Government Chief Adviser (CA) Dr. Muhammad Yunus read out the “July Declaration.” The Chief Adviser joined the program around 5 pm on Tuesday (August 5), entering the venue alongside BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Dr. Yunus formally read the declaration after 5 pm.

The key points of the declaration are as follows:

Whereas, in continuation of a long anti-colonial struggle, the people of this land resisted 23 years of deprivation and exploitation by Pakistan’s autocratic rulers, built mass resistance against indiscriminate genocide, and on March 26, 1971, declared independence to establish the state of Bangladesh through a bloody Liberation War;

Whereas, the people of Bangladesh made the ultimate sacrifice through long struggles to realize their aspiration of building a liberal democratic state based on equality, human dignity, and social justice as declared in the proclamation of independence;

Whereas, due to procedural flaws, structural weaknesses, and misuse of the 1972 Constitution, the post-independence Awami League government failed to fulfill the people’s expectations from the Liberation War and undermined democracy and state institutions;

Whereas, the post-independence Awami League government constitutionally imposed a one-party regime in the name of BAKSAL, contrary to the core democratic ideals of independence, and seized freedom of speech and judicial independence, which prompted the soldier-people’s united revolution of November 7, 1975, paving the way to restore multi-party democracy, freedom of speech, and judicial independence;

Whereas, a nine-year-long mass struggle against military autocracy in the 1980s culminated in the 1990 uprising, restoring parliamentary democracy in 1991;

Whereas, due to domestic and foreign conspiracies disrupting the democratic process of government change, the 1/11 conspiratorial mechanism paved the way for Sheikh Hasina’s absolute power, domination, and fascism in Bangladesh;

Whereas, over the past 16 years, a fascist, undemocratic, and anti-people regime pursued an extreme ambition to establish a one-party state by making illegal and undemocratic constitutional changes, enabling absolute domination;

Whereas, Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government’s misrule, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, suppression of freedom of speech, and partisan constitutional changes destroyed all state and constitutional institutions of Bangladesh;

Whereas, under Hasina’s rule, an extreme anti-people, autocratic, and human-rights-violating force transformed Bangladesh into a fascist, mafia, and failed state, tarnishing the country’s international image;

Whereas, in the name of so-called development, the fallen corrupt Awami League government under Sheikh Hasina’s fascist leadership engaged in rampant corruption, bank looting, money laundering, and the destruction of financial institutions, jeopardizing Bangladesh’s immense economic potential, environment, biodiversity, and climate;

Whereas, political parties, student and labor organizations, and the general public have endured nearly 16 years of relentless democratic struggle against Sheikh Hasina’s fascist government, facing imprisonment, harassment, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings;

Whereas, the Awami League government, as a servile force to foreign dominance and exploitation, brutally suppressed the just movements of the Bangladeshi people against unfair foreign hegemony;

Whereas, to illegally cling to power, the Awami League government deprived the people of voting rights and representation through three fraudulent elections (2014, 2018, and 2024);

Whereas, political opponents, students, and youths were brutally persecuted under the Awami League regime, and exclusive partisan recruitment and quota-based discrimination in public service created widespread resentment among students, job seekers, and citizens;

Whereas, extreme repression on opposition political parties and organizations generated long-standing public outrage, and people continued their anti-fascist struggle through all legitimate means;

Whereas, during the anti-discrimination student movement demanding the abolition of discriminatory quotas in public service and anti-corruption measures, the Awami League government launched mass repression, brutal atrocities, and crimes against humanity, triggering a nationwide student-people’s uprising;

Whereas, political parties, religious, social, cultural, professional, and labor organizations joined the indomitable student-people’s uprising against fascist forces, while Awami fascist forces indiscriminately killed nearly one thousand people, including women and children, maimed and blinded countless others, and finally, members of the armed forces extended support to the people’s democratic struggle;

Whereas, in pursuit of toppling the illegal Sheikh Hasina regime, abolishing the fascist system, and establishing a new political order, the people launched a non-cooperation movement under the call of the anti-discrimination student movement, followed by the August 5 long march to Dhaka; ultimately, at the climax of the anti-fascist movement, the people’s march toward Ganabhaban forced fascist Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country on August 5, 2024;

Whereas, in facing Bangladesh’s political and constitutional crisis, the exercise of people’s sovereignty through the mass uprising is legitimate, lawful, and internationally recognized;

Whereas, in response to the people’s demand, the illegal 12th National Parliament was dissolved, and as per Article 106 of the Constitution and Supreme Court opinion, an Interim Government under Dr. Muhammad Yunus was constitutionally formed on August 8, 2024;

Whereas, the anti-fascist aspirations of the people and the student-people’s uprising reflect the desire to build a society and state free from fascism, discrimination, and corruption;

Therefore, the people of Bangladesh express the intent to undertake democratic reforms of the existing Constitution and all state and constitutional institutions to ensure good governance, fair elections, prevention of fascist recurrence, rule of law, and economic and social justice;

Therefore, the people of Bangladesh express a firm intent to ensure prompt and proper trials for all crimes, including enforced disappearances, murders, massacres, crimes against humanity, and looting of state property committed by the fascist Awami League government during the 16-year anti-fascist struggle and the July 2024 uprising;

Therefore, the people of Bangladesh declare all martyrs of the July uprising as national heroes and express the intent to provide all necessary legal protections to the families of martyrs, injured fighters, and protesting students and citizens;

Therefore, the people of Bangladesh express the intent to establish a democratic state and a value-based, corruption-free, exploitation-free, and discrimination-free society in line with the aspirations of the people, particularly the youth, through necessary constitutional reforms in a National Parliament formed via a free, fair, and impartial election held within a reasonable timeframe;

Therefore, the people of Bangladesh express the expectation that the rights of current and future generations will be protected through an inclusive and sustainable development strategy that is environmentally and climate-resilient;

The people of Bangladesh express the intent that the 2024 Student-People’s Uprising will receive due state and constitutional recognition, and this declaration will be incorporated in the schedule of the reformed Constitution of the government elected thereafter;

This declaration has been adopted as a reflection of the aspirations of the victorious people of Bangladesh in the August 5, 2024 mass uprising.

Earlier, the program began with one minute of silence in memory of the martyrs of July. The declaration reading commenced with the national anthem. Top leaders from BNP, Jamaat, and NCP, along with a large number of people from various political parties and professional sectors, attended the event.

Notably, on August 5 last year, the fascist Awami League government fell in the face of the student-people’s uprising. Then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India to escape mass outrage. Subsequently, an interim government was formed on August 8 under the leadership of Dr. Yunus, which finalized the July Declaration.