‘Govt must stop giving key posts to AL loyalists’

A group of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leaders yesterday demanded that the government remove those, who they believe are “allies of the fascists”, from the posts of advisers.
Some of them also warned that they would not hesitate to take to the streets and remove the entire council of advisers “if the government continued to rehabilitate Awami allies”.
“The advisory council needs to explain the contributions of those being appointed. We want to know about their struggles over the last 16 years,” said Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
He made these remarks while addressing a demonstration at Raju Memorial Sculpture where Dhaka University students protested the recent appointments to the interim government.
Eight coordinators of the movement were present.
On Sunday, renowned filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, AkijBashir Group MD Sk Bashir Uddin, and chief adviser’s special assistant Mahfuj Alam were sworn in as advisers.
Immediately after they took the oath of office, there were protests against the appointments of Farooki and Bashir.
Hasnat said, “If decisions are made beyond the mandate given by the students and citizens, we will not accept them.
“Students will not let this go unquestioned … We want to know whose prescriptions are being followed to rehabilitate Awami allies,” he added.
He said those who had ties to the fascists over the last 16 years have no place in post-2024 Bangladesh. “We overthrew fascist Hasina not to keep her legacy.”
Arif Sohel, a coordinator of the movement, said, “Without talking to the students, an adviser known to have supported fascists was appointed. We don’t understand how this could happen, and we demand an explanation.”
“We trusted the government, but now we see that it is ignoring the collective aspirations of the students and the people. If this continues, it won’t take us long to establish a new government.”
Movement coordinator Mahin Sarker said, “If there is no reflection of our views, we will show them the red card. Accomplices of fascists must be removed immediately.”
Rifat Rashid, another coordinator, said they would not hesitate to remove the advisory council, like the way they removed Hasina, if advisers are appointed ignoring the mandate given by the people and the students.
Movement coordinator Tariqul Islam said the advisers seemed to have become a part of the system itself when they were meant to bring reforms.
Coordinator Abdul Kader said they would ensure that the spirit of the uprising is upheld and that the supreme sacrifices of the martyred do not go in vain.
Abdul Hannan Masud, another coordinator, demanded the government ensure advisers face the media every week to provide a clear picture of his or her ministry.
Students at the demonstration chanted, “Who are the advisers? The revolutionaries want answers”, “Awami League rehabilitation won’t be allowed to happen”.
On Sunday, a group of people during the oath-taking ceremony marched with lit torches and demonstrated near the Bangabhaban against the inclusion of Sk Bashir Uddin as an adviser.
Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the student movement, also criticised the selection of new advisers on his Facebook page that night.
Ashrefa Khatun, another coordinator of the movement, wrote on her Facebook page that many of the coordinators were in the dark about the appointments of new advisers and only came to know about the development through Facebook.
The government does not give importance to the coordinators, but people hold them responsible for the government’s failure.
In Jashore, movement leaders and activists held a protest rally around 11:30pm on Sunday demanding removal of Bashir.
In front of Chattogram Press Club yesterday afternoon, police detained five youths when they, under the banner of “Towhidi Janata”, attempted to hold a human chain protesting the appointments of Bashir and Farooki, reports our staff correspondent in Chattogram.
Hasnat took to Facebook last night to protest the arrests. He said, “Making arrests from protests against the appointment of Bashir and Farooki is a mockery to the extreme. These are hypocrisies. Don’t try to become Hasina. We cared little for Hasina, toppled her. What have you become?”
The Jatiya Nagorik Committee in a press release yesterday said, “We feel that important state decisions, including the appointment of advisers, are not being made in a proper and participatory way and based on consultation with stakeholders of the mass uprising.
“Taking decisions without considering the opinions and suggestions of the stakeholders is inconsistent with the aspirations of the July uprising.
“Therefore, we, the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, urge the interim government to take decisions based on the views of the uprising stakeholders in future to maintain the democratic values and transparency … .”
Meanwhile, Hefazat-e-Islam in a statement yesterday raised question over the appointment of Farooki and wanted to know the logic behind his inclusion in the government.