NCP says July Declaration ‘incomplete’, demands visible reforms before polls
The National Citizen Party (NCP) has called the July Declaration "incomplete" and called for visible implementation of agreed-upon reforms and ensuring a level playing field before national elections, which the interim government has said will be held in February, before Ramadan.
Speaking at a press conference at the party office in Dhaka's Bangla Motor today, NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen said the declaration left out several pivotal national incidents and movements, thereby failing to provide a full historical narrative.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. He pointed out that events like the Pilkhana carnage, Shapla Chattar crackdown, judicial killings, 2018 quota reform movement, road safety protests, the anti-Modi demonstrations, and the movement for justice in the Abrar Fahad killing were all missing from the declaration.
Including these would have made the declaration more complete and meaningful, he said, adding that these movements are a matter of national pride and deserve historical recognition.
He also criticised the interim government's failure to determine the exact number of martyrs in the July Uprising, a year after the events.
"The declaration mentions 'around one thousand' martyrs, whereas a UN report states the figure is 1,400. This discrepancy remains unresolved," he said.
Akhter noted that while the declaration promises recognition of July martyrs as "national heroes" and legal protection for participants of the movement, some important issues the NCP had recommended were excluded.
Akhter said, "What we found to be the most important point is that this declaration says that it will be mentioned in the schedule of an amended constitution of an elected government formed through elections.
"We, the NCP, have long been demanding a new constitution for Bangladesh. In that regard, we have called upon the government to rewrite the constitution through a Constituent Assembly election," he said.
"We have long demanded a new constitution that reflects the aspirations of Bangladesh's emerging political demographic."
The NCP called for the immediate implementation of key reforms already agreed upon by the political parties.
"Those reforms must be enforced during the tenure of the interim government. The next national election should be held only after the July Charter and Declaration are fully implemented," Akhter said.
However, he clarified that the NCP does not object to the Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's mention of election in February.
"However, before holding polls, the government must fulfil certain responsibilities: making the reforms visible and ensuring justice for genocide victims," he said.
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