Overcoming obstacles, Awami League stands on a firm foundation: Hasina

President of the Awami League Sheikh Hasina has paid tribute to all party members on its 72nd founding anniversary for their contributions.

“All our leaders, party members and supporters overcame many challenges and fended off numerous conspirators to build a solid foundation for the Awami League to uphold the spirit of the Liberation War and the ideals of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” Hasina said in a speech on Tuesday.

The celebrations will be muted this year, like the last year, due to the coronavirus crisis and begin with the raising of the national and party flags across all offices countrywide at the break of dawn on Wednesday.

It will be followed by laying of floral wreaths as tributes to the Father of the Nation at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi.

The party headquarters will organise a discussion meeting, which will be chaired by Hasina via video call, in the afternoon.

A dominant power in the history of Bangladesh's independence, the Awami League is serving an unprecedented third straight term in power. Hasina is leading Bangladesh's charge to become a developed nation.

“The Awami League’s goal is to establish the Sonar Bangla of Bangbanadhu’s dreams and put Bangali as a nation of dignity on the face of the earth. I firmly believe that if the party’s strong organisational structure and the practice of democracy remain intact, no one will be able to hold us back.”

The party came into being as the Awami Muslim League at Rose Garden on Old Dhaka’s KM Das Lane on this day in 1949. Since then, it has been at the forefront of the Bengalis’ struggle for freedom, culminating in the Liberation War of 1971.

The party later dropped the word ‘Muslim’ and emerged as a secular force, fighting for the autonomy of Bengali-dominated East Pakistan. It became the undisputed political choice for Bengalis during the movement to topple the military regime of Field Marshal Ayub Khan.

Highlighting the events leading up to the formation of the party, Hasina said, “The aim of the party was to gain non-communal Bengali identity and economic freedom, ensure people have a say in running the country, strengthen the bond of brotherhood with other Muslim nations of the world and widen the path to world peace.”

Hasina underlined the Awami League’s role in securing the rights of the people. “The student movement of 1962, prevention of communal riots of 1964, the six-point movement in 1966 and the uprising of 1969 to deliver on the promise to end dictatorship made the party a shelter for freedom-loving people."

Reflecting on the aftermath of the war, Hasina said, “Different international agencies including the United Nations and friendly nations swiftly gave recognition to Bangladesh at the call of the Bangabandhu.

“Bangladesh rose on the world stage in a matter of a few years and became a least developed country within just three and a half years.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina is expected to open a new 10-storey building for the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on Saturday. Photo: Abdullah Al Momin

“Groups against the independence of the country and war criminals left Bangladesh without a leader on Aug 15, 1975 by assassinating the then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members to avenge their defeat in 1971. My sister Rehana and I survived the massacre as we were abroad.”

Detailing the times of terror, Hasina added, “The embassies of Bangladesh rewarded Khondokar Moshtaq-Zia’s group of killers with jobs and established them politically… They distorted the history of the Liberation War."

The Awami League won the last general election of December 2018 to govern the country for a third straight term.