Delay in banning Awami League will spark another mass uprising, says Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad leader Rafi

He says Yunus was not made chief advisor to restore the Awami League, rather to ensure justice is delivered

Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad Joint Convenor Talat Mahmud Rafi has warned that delaying the banning of the Awami League will trigger another mass uprising like the one in July.

Rafi, a Chattogram coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, led his party in a rally demanding the ban of the Awami League at New Market on Friday.

He said, “I want to clearly say that we made you [Muhammad Yunus] the chief advisor of the interim government through the fall of the Awami League government. Not simply for civility.

“You are trying to restore the Awami League faster than you are exacting judgement on the party.”

He added, “You were not [put in authority] to rehabilitate the Awami League. You were seated there to ensure judgement is delivered to the Awami League and they are banned.

“If the Awami League is allowed to return to politics somehow, then it would happen over [our] dead bodies.”

On Thursday, Yunus made it clear that the interim government had no intention of banning the Awami League.

But Yunus said its leaders accused of grave crimes, including murder and crimes against humanity, would face trial in the country’s courts.

“If the banning of the Awami League is delayed, a repetition of July will occur. On Aug 5, hundreds of thousands of students and people proved that the people of the country no longer want the Awami League.”

In a Facebook post during the wee hours of Friday, Hasnat Abdullah, a leader of the Anti-discrimination Student movement, wrote about his encounter with a “plan to bring a 'Refined Awami League' back” in a recent meeting at the Cantonment.

Hasnat along with other Uprising leaders rejected the idea. They sought a complete ban on the Awami League. Following Hasnat’s post on Facebook, a protest was launched on Dhaka University campus demanding the ban.