Jamaat warns ‘return of fascism’

Opposition leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Saturday spoke about his party’s position regarding the government’s stance, telling his supporters at a roadside rally in Feni that the administration had “started betraying the people” and warning that anyone attempting to revive authoritarian rule would face swifter resistance than the 15 years it took to unseat the last one.

“We can hear the footsteps of fascism,” Rahman said at the rally in the Mohipal area of Feni Sadar upazila on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, speaking as chief guest.

“Those who now try to bring back fascism will not get another 15 years to wait. We will not tolerate anyone’s intimidation. Wherever we face obstruction, we will build resistance there.”

The remarks came as the Jamaat-led 11-party opposition alliance’s long march from Dhaka to Chattogram made its way down the highway, with Rahman addressing a series of rallies over the course of the day, including one earlier at Paduar Bazar in Cumilla.

The march set off from Shapla
Chattar in Motijheel, Dhaka, at around 7am, following an opening rally addressed by Dr AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami and coordinator of the 11-party alliance.

Earlier in the day, at the Cumilla stop, Rahman had struck a similar note, saying the government had failed to keep promises made to the public before the election and asserting that people wanted to be freed from it.

“People shed blood on the streets in the struggle against authoritarianism, but their demands have not yet been fulfilled,” he told the crowd there.

At the Cumilla rally, Rahman opened by demanding the swift implementation of a separate Cumilla administrative division and called for a feasibility study into reopening Cumilla airport.

He also aimed criticism at the government over the country’s continuing electricity crisis and delays in prosecuting mass killings.

“There is electricity at the power minister’s house. There is electricity in Parliament. But ordinary people’s homes have no electricity,” he said.

He added that in the past six months, trials over major killings – including the Shapla Chattar deaths and the Pilkhana massacre – had not begun, and that several prosecutions launched under the interim government had since stalled.

Rahman also sought to rebut suggestions that Jamaat or its allies had divided loyalties, telling the crowd, “None of us has relatives abroad to fall back on. We were born in this country.

This country is our address. We want to hand the country over to the youth.”
The six-point charter driving the march calls for implementation of the public’s verdict in the February 12 referendum, trials over the July 2024 mass killings, resolution of the country’s multidimensional energy crisis, measures to rein in the rising cost of essential goods, an end to extortion and corruption alongside improved law and order, and an end to narrow partisan politics.

Speaking as special guest at the Feni rally alongside senior Jamaat and National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders, Opposition Chief Whip and NCP convener Nahid Islam accused the government of failing to deliver on any of the aspirations behind last year’s mass uprising.

“The government has not been able to fulfil a single aspiration of the mass uprising,” he said, alleging that the RAB paramilitary force was being rebranded rather than disbanded, and accusing the BNP of forming a syndicate to drive up fuel prices.

“If the BNP engages in corruption, the people of this country will not spare it,” he said, warning that his alliance would not tolerate any crackdown on 11-party leaders and workers.

“If they strike, there will be a counter-strike,” he said, adding that the alliance would announce a fresh programme of action at a public rally in Dhaka once the long march concludes.

Earlier in the day, Islam had also called for uninterrupted supplies of oil, gas and electricity, warning that the government would not survive in office if it failed to meet the public’s basic demands.

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, addressing the Feni rally, said the government lacked confidence and was refusing to accept the verdict of the referendum.

“We will force them to accept the referendum’s verdict, even if it takes force,” he said, arguing that although Sheikh Hasina had left, the current government was running the country in the same mould as its predecessor.

He said the opposition stood united under Rahman’s leadership and voiced hope that supporters would answer his call in future rounds of protest.

Earlier, Ahmed had said the mandate given by 70 percent of voters must be implemented, warning that the government would have to be made to fail if it did not implement that mandate on its own.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque told marchers that people must be prepared to face tougher challenges ahead in order to change their circumstances and steer the country in the right direction.

The long march is continuing toward Chattogram with further roadside rallies planned along the way, including stops in Narayanganj, Cumilla and Feni, before concluding with a public rally at Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram.