Cantonment conspiring to restore ‘Refined Awami League’, says Hasnat

"We were offered a deal for seats in exchange for accepting the proposal," he writes on Facebook

Hasnat Abdullah, a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has claimed that the military administration is "applying pressure" for the Awami League to return to politics.

In a Facebook post around 2am on Friday, Hasnat claimed that he and two other individuals had been presented with a proposal for a “Refined Awami League” by the “cantonment”.

The meeting, which took place at 2:30pm on Mar 11, ended abruptly after a heated exchange with a senior army officer, he added.

No official response was made from the army headquarters or the ISPR regarding the demands of this former student leader, who left the Chhatra League amid the July movement.

Organiser of the NCP’s southern unit, Hasnat wrote, “We were proposed a deal for [parliamentary] seats in exchange for accepting the proposal. We were told that multiple political parties were presented with the proposal and they had accepted the rehabilitation of the Awami League conditionally.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have multiple opposition parties, including a weakened Awami League, rather than just one?” the officials allegedly asked.

“As a result, you’ll see that over the past two days, several politicians have started giving statements in favour of the Awami League in the media," he added.

“A plan is underway to introduce a fresh conspiracy called the Refined Awami League. It is being crafted with figures such as Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhary, and Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh at the forefront,” Hasnat wrote.

According to Hasnat, those with whom the Refined Awami League would consist of will confess the crimes of the Sheikh family from April-May and they would appear in front of the people with promises of revitalising a party with Bangabandhu’s vision.

After former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled in the face of a mass uprising on Aug 5, President Mohammed Shahabuddin abolished the parliament the following day.

Within 27 days of the government’s fall, parliament speaker Shirin resigned from her position. She was alleged in a murder case in Rangpur during the protests.

Saber, MP of Dhaka-9 constituency, was arrested on Oct 6, but he was granted bail in six cases two days later.

Former Dhaka mayor Taposh, a relative of Hasina, fled the country before the fall of the government.

“This plan is entirely orchestrated by India,” Hasnat alleged.

Following Hasnat’s post on Facebook, a protest was launched on Dhaka University campus demanding the ban. The protests continued on Friday at different places in the country.

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

However, he said the party’s leaders accused of grave crimes, including murder and crimes against humanity, would face trial in the country’s courts.

ALTERCATION

Hasnat claimed when he and his colleagues had rejected the idea and instead demanded accountability for the Awami League’s alleged misdeeds, the discussion escalated.

“We were told that if we obstruct the Awami League’s return, we would bear responsibility for any ensuing national crisis,” he wrote.

“They said, ‘The Awami League must come back’.”

At one point in the exchange, Hasnat recounted, he questioned how a political party that had neither apologised nor admitted to its past wrongdoings could be reinstated.

The response, he alleged, was dismissive.

“They said, ‘You people know nothing’. ‘You lack wisdom and experience. We have been in service for at least forty years, which is more than your age’.”

When the student leaders remained firm in their opposition, Hasnat claimed that tensions rose further.

“I told them, ‘If the Awami League is to return, it will have to be over our dead bodies,” he wrote.

The meeting, he said, ended without resolution.

In his post, Hasnat issued a call for unity against “efforts to rehabilitate the Awami League before it could face trial”.

“I do not know what will happen to me after posting this,” he wrote.

“I may come under pressure, and I may even be in danger. But there is no room to compromise on the issue of banning the Awami League.”

Vowing to resist any attempt to reinstate the party, he warned, “As long as we have a drop of blood in our bodies, we will not let the sacrifices of our martyrs go in vain.”