Dhaka, Feb 13 Student Against Discrimination (SAD), the group behind the nationwide protest and violence in Bangladesh in July and August 2024 leading to the fall of government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is now aggressively demanding a ban on Awami League.
On Thursday, the student leaders renewed their demand to ban Hasina's party, this time demanding the action within 24 hours, local media reported.
The development comes at a time when the United Nations has clearly recommended the interim government in Bangladesh against banning any political party for the sake of a multiparty democracy.
"Refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multiparty democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate," said a fact-finding report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
In October, the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus had banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Awami League, under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009. The ban cited BCL's alleged involvement in murder, torture, rape, and terrorism, and was seen as a precursor to banning the parent organisation.
The same interim government had lifted ban on radical Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir immediately after the fall of Hasina government in August 2024.
In December, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, during a meeting with election officials at the Chittagong Circuit House, said that the Awami League is allowed to participate in elections unless the government or the judiciary issues a ban against the party.
The student organisation has a reputation of resorting to violence and wields immense influence in the functioning of the current regime.
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