BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has called for repaying the debt to the martyrs by establishing the people’s right to vote.
On Tuesday (July 1), he made this statement while joining virtually the BNP’s discussion event titled “Mass Uprising 2024: National Unity and the Democratic Journey” and the Martyr Family Honor Ceremony held at the China Friendship Conference Center in Dhaka.
“From the independence movement to various mass uprisings over time, the people of this country have repeatedly sacrificed their lives with the hope of a better future. Yet, the dream of a just and equitable Bangladesh remains unfulfilled. Time and again, the nation has fallen prey to the ghosts of fascism and misrule,” he said.
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Demanding an end to this cycle, Tarique Rahman posed a question that “Our question and everyone’s question is this that will people keep dying like this forever? These people did not protest for a house in Canada’s Begum Para, a second home in Malaysia, or a Swiss bank account. They demanded democracy and human rights in the state and society.”
He stated that with the mass uprising of 2024, the people of Bangladesh have broken the chains of fascism and are now free. To honor the sacrifice of the martyrs of that uprising, he urged everyone to remain active and vigilant.
He said, “We must seize the opportunity created by a fascism-free environment. We cannot afford to make the same mistake again. Through the establishment of a truly democratic government elected by direct vote and accountable to the people, we must build the just, democratic, and humane Bangladesh that the martyrs dreamed of. Only then can we say we have repaid our debt to them. The time is now.”
