New Delhi: Deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League faces a potential ban in the country, with the interim government saying that it is “seriously considering” the move, amid growing pressure from the newly formed National Citizen Party, Islamist groups and civil society groups.
The office of Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, issued a statement Friday, saying a decision on the matter “would be made soon”.
The statement came after hundreds of activists of the National Citizen Party, led by student protesters who played a key role in Hasina’s ouster on 5 August last year, gathered outside Yunus’s residence ‘Jamuna’ on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday to demand that the Awami League be outlawed.
The Daily Star reported Saturday the advisory council is set to hold an emergency meeting Saturday evening where the ban could be discussed.
The overnight protests were joined by leaders and supporters of Islamist groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami, its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, and the Hefazat-e-Islam, amplifying pressure on the interim administration.
“The government is seriously considering the demand to ban the Awami League… on charges of dictatorship and terrorist activities,” Bangladesh’s interim government said in a statement Friday.
The protesters held prayers and maintained a sit-in, spilling into Friday, with slogans echoing across the capital calling for a ban on the Awami League.
“The government has already established contact with the political parties in this regard,” said the statement, adding consultations were ongoing and a “decision would be made soon”.
“In this regard, the government is taking into consideration the UN report on the terrorist activities of the leaders and supporters of the Awami League. Until then, everyone is urged to be patient. It is to be noted that the government has already banned the terrorist organization Chhatra League under the existing law, respecting the public demand,” the statement read.
NCP leader Sarjis Alam said Thursday, “Our movement has started. This campaign may continue for one day or even a month. We will have to remain on the street until the announcement of banning the Awami League is made”.
Hasina was ousted as prime minister on August 5 last year following weeks of violent and deadly clashes. Yunus assumed office three days later, on August 8.
The interim government also announced plans to amend Bangladesh’s International Crimes (Tribunals) Act to take legal action against organisations involved in crimes against humanity.
While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), historically the Awami League’s chief rival, has distanced itself from the call for a ban, most Awami League leaders are either jailed or in hiding, both domestically and abroad.
Former prime minister Hasina, currently in India, faces multiple court cases in Bangladesh.
In a virtual meeting with Awami League cadres in March, Hasina directed her ire at those who forced her ouster. Her son Sajeeb Wazed turned up the heat even higher, branding the leadership of the NCP as “terrorist students”.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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