Opposition announces long March over six demands

A Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance has announced a long march from Dhaka to Chattogram, demanding justice for the July massacre, implementation of the referendum verdict, and solutions to shortages of gas, electricity and fertiliser, among other issues.

The announcement was made at a press conference on Tuesday by Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar.

According to Porwar, the long march will begin at 7am on September 5 from Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar and conclude at the historic Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram.

The alliance plans to gradually hold similar programmes in all divisional cities, he said.

Among the alliance’s six key demands are justice for the July massacre, measures to curb rising prices of essential commodities, and resolving shortages of gas, electricity and fertiliser.

“We have identified six demands as the main issues behind this long march, including justice for the July massacre and controlling the rising prices of essential commodities,” Porwar said.

He said the alliance would set out from Shapla Chattar with Laldighi Maidan as its destination.

The organisers also said they were taking measures to minimise disruption to public movement during the programme.

According to Porwar, the long-march convoy is expected to use one portion of the highway while keeping another portion open for regular traffic.

However, he acknowledged that a programme of such scale could cause temporary inconvenience in some areas.

“We apologise to the people of the country in advance for any temporary inconvenience that may occur because of such a large programme,” Porwar said.

The announcement comes as the 11-party alliance seeks to bring several political, economic and public-interest demands together under a single campaign, with the Dhaka–Chattogram long march set to be its first major nationwide mobilisation.