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The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance will hold a long march from Dhaka to Chattogram on Saturday to press home a six-point demand, including the implementation of the people’s verdict in the February 12 referendum, trial of those responsible for the July 2024 mass killings and a resolution to the country’s multidimensional energy crisis.
The alliance is also demanding effective measures to control soaring prices of essential commodities, an end to extortion and corruption, improvement of the law and order situation and an end to what it described as narrow partisanisation.
Jamaat Secretary General and Long March Implementation Committee Convener Mia Golam Parwar on Friday urged the government to provide all necessary administrative cooperation to ensure the smooth and peaceful holding of the programme.
He also warned against any attempt to create an adverse situation during the long march, saying such actions could further erode public trust and trigger public anger.
“We hope that the government and anyone from the ruling party will not take such an unwise step,” he told reporters after a final preparatory meeting for the programme.
The meeting was held at 11am at Jamaat’s central office in the capital’s Moghbazar area.
Golam Parwar said all preparations for Saturday’s programme had been completed and around 1,500 vehicles were expected to take part in the long march.
The programme will begin with an inaugural rally at 7am at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka. Several roadside rallies will also be held along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
The first rally will take place near the truck stand by Kanchpur Bridge in Narayanganj, followed by rallies at Paduar Bazar Bishwaroad in Cumilla, Mohipal in Feni and Mirsarai.
The programme will conclude with a final rally at Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram.
“We have so far received information that a huge number of people will join there,” Golam Parwar said, referring to the final rally.
He said participants in the long march would remain inside their vehicles while passing the roadside rally points. Local units of the alliance would organise and attend those gatherings.
According to him, vehicles participating in the long march will carry designated stickers, and no vehicle without the required identification will be allowed to join the procession.
He said media vehicles would also be allowed to join the long march to cover the programme.
Golam Parwar said the opposition had continued to play what he described as a systematic, constructive and responsible role both inside and outside Parliament since the formation of the government following the 13th parliamentary election.
Referring to the alliance’s demands, he alleged that although six months had passed since the formation of the government, it had not taken effective steps to implement the people’s verdict given in the February 12 referendum. “Rather, it has turned away from implementing the people’s verdict,” he said.
He said the alliance was not launching a movement to overthrow the government.
“We are not waging any movement to overthrow the government. Our demand, as well as the people’s demand, is that you accept the people’s verdict in the referendum and accept our six-point demands,” he said.
Golam Parwar also stressed the need to maintain political tolerance between the ruling and opposition parties following the political changes of July 2024.
“Let it now be proven that there is mutual tolerance between the opposition and ruling parties and that we have come out of the negative culture of political violence,” he said.
The Jamaat leader said the alliance did not anticipate any sabotage during the programme and expressed confidence that the long march could be held peacefully without causing any loss of life or property.
He said the organisers expected thousands of people to greet the long march from both sides of the road.
The final preparatory meeting was attended, among others, by Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and 11-party alliance coordinator AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, Jagpa spokesperson Rashed Pradhan and Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Maulana Abdul Halim.