Sadrul Ain:
Nahid Islam, convener of the new political party National Citizens Party (NCP), said, "There will be no place for pro-India and pro-Pakistan politics in Bangladesh."
We will build the state keeping Bangladesh in mind and the interests of the people of Bangladesh in mind.
Nahid Islam made these remarks at the NCP's launch event at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital. Nahid Islam began his speech by offering his greetings and best wishes to the students and public who participated in the July Uprising, the family members of the martyrs, and the leaders of the political parties.
He said, "We want to talk about the future. We want to talk about Bangladesh's potential by going beyond the past history."
Nahid Islam highlighted the slogan of the July mass uprising, 'Who are you, who am I, alternative, alternative', and said that this new party is emerging from a place of alternative. Nahid Islam said, 'I swear from today's stage that Bangladesh cannot be divided.'
Nahid Islam then began reading the written statement. The National Citizens Committee gave the declaration read by Nahid to the journalists.
In the context of the July 2024 student uprising, under the leadership of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the initiative of the National Citizens Committee, we, the students of Bangladesh, declare:
We, as a people of the Bengal Delta, have stood with a rich and unique culture through a thousand-year historical journey. After a long struggle against British colonial rule for almost 200 years, the state of Pakistan was established in 1947. However, the people of this country have not been freed from exploitation and discrimination.
As a result, after a long 23-year struggle, the independent state of Bangladesh was born in 1971 through the great War of Liberation, in exchange for the blood of millions of martyrs. But for a long time after independence, the people of Bangladesh had to fight for democracy repeatedly.
In 1990, the students and the masses overthrew the military dictatorship with fresh blood. Yet, even after five decades of independence, we have not been able to create a political settlement that ensures democracy, equality, human dignity and social justice. Rather, in the past 15 years, a brutal fascist regime has been established in the country, where democracy has been destroyed by recklessly using state institutions for the interests of the ruling party.
The silencing of dissent, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, rampant corruption, and money laundering have become a state culture.
In July 2024, the student population, through immense sacrifice, brought down the fascist government that had been in power for a long decade and a half through an unprecedented uprising. But we must remember that this new freedom, achieved at the cost of the sacrifices of thousands of martyrs, did not happen simply to overthrow one government and install another.
The people responded to this uprising out of a desire for a new political settlement by abolishing the fascist system that had taken hold of the state, so that a state based on the rights of the people could be reconstructed. With that aim in mind, we are announcing the establishment of the National Citizens Party (NCP).
It will be a democratic, egalitarian, and people-representative political party. We believe that the July 2024 mass uprising has begun the fight to establish our Second Republic.
We must end all possibilities of re-establishing constitutional dictatorship by drafting a new democratic constitution. One of our primary goals is to draft a new constitution through the election of a Constituent Assembly to establish our Second Republic.
Our Second Republic will build a strong defense system to protect national interests. Rebuilding the collapsed political, social, economic and cultural institutions and preserving their democratic character will be the priority of our politics. Only through this can we emerge as a fully democratic state.
We want to develop a political culture where unity replaces division, justice replaces revenge, and merit and competence replaces family systems at all levels of society and state. There will be no place for corruption and nepotism in our politics.
In our Second Republic, the voices of the marginalized sections of society will be brought into the mainstream. In our Republic, the common people, and only the common people, will be the sole source of power. Strong protection of all their democratic and fundamental rights will be the motto of our politics. We want to build a pluralistic and prosperous society by protecting the ethnic, social, gender, religious and cultural values and diversity existing in the state.
Our Republic will provide strong protection to all citizens from poverty, discrimination and abuse of power. Our Second Republic will not marginalize any section of the population of Bangladesh. Rather, every citizen of the state will be given equal importance and security will be ensured for all.
In the economy, we want to build a national economy that is self-reliant, income-equal, and sensitive to life, nature, and the environment through proper coordination of the agriculture-service-manufacturing sectors. In our economy, wealth will not be concentrated in the hands of a specific group, but rather, balanced redistribution of wealth will be the motto of our economy.
We will protect consumers and public interests by taking firm steps to control private sector syndicates and vested interests. We will ensure regional cooperation and international partnerships to stand tall as a strong nation in the region through economic progress, and build a sustainable, modern economy by fostering an innovative culture with an emphasis on the science and technology sector.
Finally, we would like to reiterate our determination to establish a society based on justice and equality. We firmly believe that the July 2024 mass uprising is not only a victory against a fascist regime, but also an oath to build our future. Let us together, hand in hand, build a Bangladesh where the voice of every citizen will resonate, where the establishment of justice, the struggle for human rights will be one of the goals of politics. Where equality and human dignity will be the foundation of the state.
Now is the time—to dream new dreams, to walk a new path, and to build a new Bangladesh! We all pledge to build this new Bangladesh, each from our own position. Let us unite. And let us move forward with a strong heart in the fight to establish our desired Second Republic. Our country, our rights, our future—our Second Republic is not an elusive dream, it is our promise!
