haider ali: Awami League’s political strategy was wrong and instead of democracy, the party was moving towards fascism, said State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraq Hossain.
He said that Awami League suffered a final political, social and moral defeat in the July massacre. The announcement of Sheikh Hasina’s return to the country in December is being made just to energize party workers, which is a political stunt.
Ishraq Hossain commented that they remained in power by selling the Liberation War and worshipping one person.
He made these remarks as the chief guest in a shadow parliament on ‘responsibility for the July massacre’ at FDC on Saturday (August 1). The competition was organized by Debate for Democracy.
Ishraq Hossain said that politics and state power are not the same thing. Politics is associated with issues such as state power, cultural and economic power, soft power, international lobbying and public acceptance. Therefore, political victory or defeat cannot be determined by the election results alone.
He said, even if the results of the 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections were taken in favor of the Awami League, it cannot be called a political achievement. According to him, the Awami League’s wrong political strategy was to move from democracy to fascism.
Claiming that there is no chance of political rehabilitation of the Awami League after the July massacre, the State Minister said, ‘If another incident like July happens, where a situation like a civil war is created, if the fascist force that is the Awami League somehow emerges victorious, then only they will be able to be politically rehabilitated in Bangladesh. Beyond this, I think they actually have no political future.’
Regarding Sheikh Hasina’s announcement to return to the country in December, Ishraq said, ‘Then why are you not coming to the country tomorrow? Let it come tomorrow, why does it take December?’ He claimed that the Awami League is losing its political relevance and is trying to instill hope among its followers with such statements to protect its wealth and existence.
Stating that the social position of the Awami League has not completely ended, he said that people associated with the party still have a position in various places, including the cultural and business arenas. Therefore, he emphasized the need to be careful in the politics of the future.
Ishraq Hossain said that the more divisions arise among the political forces that support the mass uprising, the more the Awami League will have a chance to make a political comeback. He also commented that this opportunity cannot be given in any way.
Regarding the emigration of Awami League leaders and activists, he said that seeing defeat as certain, they fled the country, putting ordinary leaders and activists in danger. He commented that this was a manifestation of the Awami League’s ‘cowardly’ political identity.
Regarding Sheikh Hasina’s description of the participants in the July mass uprising as ‘terrorists’, Ishraq said, ‘But here the Awami League has been defeated! They are terrorists! They will hang on the gallows!’
The event was presided over by Debate for Democracy Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron.
The debaters of Bangladesh University of Business and Technology won the shadow parliament debate competition titled ‘The social defeat of the Awami League is greater than the political defeat due to the July murders’, defeating the debaters of the People’s University.
The judges of the competition were Professor Abu Muhammad Rais, Dr. SM Morshed, journalists Arifuzzaman Mamun, journalists Maidur Rahman Rubel and journalists Zakir Hossain Liton. At the end of the competition, the participating teams were awarded trophies, crests and certificates.
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