The Bangladesh Students’ Union has strongly condemned the government`s decision to allow Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami to hold a rally at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan, describing it as “a disgraceful stain on the history of the Liberation War.”
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, Mahir Shahriar Reza, president of one faction of the central committee of the Students’ Union, and general secretary Bahauddin Shubho, criticized the interim government led by Dr. Yunus for granting such permission.
“Suhrawardy Udyan is a symbol of our victory in the Liberation War. On December 16, 1971, the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators—Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Sangha (now Islami Chhatra Shibir), Razakars, Nezam-e-Islami, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams—surrendered at this very ground,” the statement reads. “And now, for the first time in independent Bangladesh, the government has allowed a rally by the party responsible for genocide and war crimes to be held at this sacred site. We vehemently protest and condemn this decision.”
The student leaders also alleged that since assuming power on August 8, 2024, the interim government’s anti-Liberation War stance has become increasingly evident. They accused the government of remaining silent while memorials to war heroes and sculptures commemorating the Liberation War have been vandalized in various parts of the country.
The statement further claimed that the curriculum is being manipulated to distort the history of the Liberation War, and efforts are underway to alter the definitions of ‘freedom fighters’ and ‘the war itself.’ Additionally, they warned of a campaign to brand pro-Liberation War individuals as allies of the “fallen autocrat Awami League,” which they say is part of a broader attack on the legacy of the country’s independence movement.
