Bangladesh: NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah calls July Declaration 'incomplete'

Dhaka, August 7 Hasnat Abdullah, the Chief Organiser of Bangladesh's National Citizens Party (NCP) in the southern region of the country, stated on Thursday that he "did not feel the need" to attend the July Declaration reading ceremony by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on August 5 as the words or opinions of a "handful of groups" dominated the event instead of unity.

Abdullah, who along with Sarjis Alam, was one of the leaders of the so-called 'Anti-Discrimination Student Movement' that led to the fall of government headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, termed his absence a "silent protest" against what he termed as the "incomplete" July Declaration.

Abdullah on Thursday shared his response on social media to the showcause notice issued to him by the party on Wednesday for not participating in the event.

The notice issued to five NCP leaders, including Abdullah over their visit to Cox's Bazar on July 5 Uprising Day, directed them to appear in person and give written explanation to the top two leaders of the party within 24 hours regarding the reason behind the visit.

In response to the party notice, Abdullah wrote, "On the evening of August 4, I came to know that many of our injured and leading brothers and sisters of the movement have been completely excluded from this event. This seems to me not only a political but also a moral failure. Therefore, I personally decided not to participate in this event.

"I did not feel any desire or need to be present where division is given priority instead of unity, and the words and opinions of a handful of groups are given priority instead of the martyrs and injured. Therefore, I decided to go out of Dhaka the next day. The purpose was to reconsider the decisions taken earlier at this important time, try to understand the recent events and think about the next steps. At the same time, it was my silent protest against the incomplete July Declaration," he wrote.

Abdullah accused the state intelligence agency of taking pictures and videos of their every move from the airport and sharing them with the media. In response to the notice.

"In collusion with some media and intelligence agencies, an attempt has been made to present our every move as criminal and suspicious. Rumours have even been spread that we are going to a secret meeting with Peter Haas to hatch a deep conspiracy against democracy. However, he was not in Bangladesh at that time....This old criminality of the intelligence agencies and some media in the new Bangladesh also surprises and angers me at the same time," he said.

According to him, NCP should have taken strong action against intelligence agency and the "dishonest media" instead of issuing a showcause notice to them. He called on public to think deeply on how much political wisdom it was to release such an 'unlawful' condolence letter and share it in the media with great excitement.

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