Jatiya Chhatra Shakti held a torch procession demanding maximum punishment for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is accused of mass killing and crimes against humanity.
On Sunday, around 7pm, leaders and activists of the organization took out a torch procession from Shahbagh Square in the capital, culminating at the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University (DU).
During the procession, protesters chanted various slogans, including “We want justice, we want justice, we want justice for killer Hasina,” “Not collaboration but the streets, the streets, the streets,” and “Long live the revolution, long live, long live.”
After the protest march, Zahid Ahsan, central president of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, addressed a brief rally at the foot of the Raju Sculpture.
In his speech, he said: “We stand here today to demand justice for the torture inflicted by the Awami League on BNP leaders and activists, as well as Jamaat-Shibir, over the past 16 years. We stand here on behalf of the families of the 1,500 martyrs of July. We have not come to establish a Shahbagh movement—we have come to demand justice.”
He continued: “We do not want to interfere with the independence of the judiciary in any way. However, we want the judiciary to remember all the martyrdoms that occurred over the past 16 years, all the bullets that were fired, all the mothers whose hearts were left empty, and deliver its verdict tomorrow, keeping all these incidents in mind.”
Noting that the Awami League has lost its position in Bangladesh’s politics, he said: “The Awami League is a dinosaur in Bangladesh’s politics. The Awami League is gone and will not be found again. Politics does not happen by hiring people for Tk200 and having them throw cocktail bombs.”
He added: “Those who have fled to Delhi will never return to Dhaka. The Awami League will have no more entry into Bangladesh’s politics. Delhi’s politics was buried on August 5, and Delhi’s politics cannot be brought back to Bangladesh.”
He further said: “The July mass killing is not the only mass killing committed by Sheikh Hasina. The Awami League has done the greatest damage to the Liberation War. The Awami League has most desecrated the spirit of the Liberation War—it started with Sheikh Mujib and ended with Sheikh Hasina.”
Zahid Ahsan also said: “We have seen that after 1971, Sheikh Mujib emerged as Bangladesh’s first autocrat. Then, due to mistakes by the politicians of that time, the Awami League got another chance to engage in politics. After getting that opportunity, we have seen that thirty years later, when they came to power, they took the lives of thousands of people over the past sixteen years.”
Concluding his speech, Zahid Ahsan expressed hope, saying: “The people of Bangladesh will see Sheikh Hasina’s trial. Tomorrow (Monday), the mother of martyr Abu Sayed and the mother of Mir Mugdha will be satisfied seeing Sheikh Hasina’s trial.”
