Shahidi march: Anti-Discrimination Students announce 5 demands

Following the celebration of one month anniversary of the removal of the ‘fascist Hasina government’ and the remembrance of the sacrifice of the martyrs, the students and general public brought out rallies and processions with banners and placards portraying the sacrifices of the martyrs and the injured ones.

The program of the celebration named ‘Shahidi March’ (procession for the martyrs) was declared yesterday by the Anti-Discrimination Students movement’s coordinators.

From the Shahidi March, the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Students movement (ADS) announced five-point demands. The demands are to arrest all the culprits who were involved in committing genocide, to provide economic and legal support to the families of the victims as soon as possible, to mark the corrupted and fascist in the administrative sectors, and bring them to the justice, to declare the ‘Gonovobon’ (the resident of the prime minister) as the ‘July-Memorial Museum’ and to quickly announce the roadmap of the state reformation.

Coordinator Sarjis Alam, said, “We have achieved this freedom by sacrificing blood. We removed fascist government and for this, we had to shed blood. If fascism tries to return and if needed, we will shed blood again as we had done it before. There will be no irregulation, syndicate, and extortion. Blood of martyrs shall not go in vain.”

Students from Madrasah, Schools, colleges, Universities, and masses from all walks of life joined the central procession chanting slogans and showing placards of the Martyrs. Besides people and students separately formed processions on the Dhaka University campus.

Starting at 3.40 pm, the central procession was launched from the premises of the Anti-terrorism Raju Monument of Dhaka University which was led by all the coordinators of the Anti-discrimination students’ movement including Hasnat Abdullah, Sarjis Alam, Hasib Al Islam, Abu Baker Majumdar, Abdul Hannan Masud.

Mohammad Ali Hossen, a school student said, “Today I came here to join the Sahidi March program bunking classes. This is our second freedom. The first freedom gave us land and from the second freedom, we are expecting our basic needs and rights to be preserved. It was a fight that we fought against Bangladeshi fascists and we won the struggle. If fascism returns, all the sacrifices will go in vain. Restoration of democracy is a must.”

Khalid Maruf, a Madrasha Student came to join the procession with his friends.

He said, “During the movement, we were on the Jatrabari Junctures. Some of my brothers and fellows got severely injured being hit by bullets. Some are still at hospitals.”

“During the previous government, we couldn’t come out with our demands, we couldn’t speak freely our thoughts. We were tagged and portrayed as terrorists and fundamentalists. The freedom which we have now, had never been. We achieved this freedom by sacrificing blood and lives. This freedom has to be preserved. And the martyrs of 2024’s mass uprising shall be remembered and recognized nationally.”

Those, who were a bit late and couldn’t join the central precession, stayed in the Dhaka University campus area and later went to central Sahid Minar chanting revolutionary slogans against corruption, crime, indian aggression, and seeking justice for mass killings by the Hasina led government.