Swechchasebak League, Jubo League will be banned, says Advisor Asif

As protesters rallied outside Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’s official residence demanding a ban on the recently deposed Awami League, Local Government Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has revealed that its fronts Swechchhasebak League and Jubo League would soon face similar action.

In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Asif said the process to ban these Awami League-affiliated organisations had begun roughly a week ago, with the official decision finalised several days earlier.

A leader of the July Uprising, Asif wrote at 10:45pm: “The Jubo League and the Swechchhasebak League, the affiliate organisations of the Awami League, are going to be banned. All the formalities have been processed a week ago and are now in the final stages.

“The pledge of the July Uprising is to ensure the banning and political elimination of the ‘genocidal’ Awami League and its affiliate organisations.”

The interim government had previously banned the Awami League’s student organisation, Chhatra League.

Two hours after the previous post, Asif, who is an advisor to two ministries in the interim government, posted another post at 12:40am on Friday.

He wrote, “The decision to ban the Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League was made a few days ago. This is not a process to suppress the movement. Rather, it is another step forward on the path of banning the Awami League.

“Personally, I think that the Awami League, as a political party that committed ‘genocide’, has no right to engage in politics in Bangladesh. The pledge of July is to ensure the trial of the genocide perpetrators and to politically ban and eliminate the Awami League.”

Earlier, several hundred protesters rallied outside the official residence of Yunus, demanding a ban on the Awami League following a call from National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah.

Police have blocked all roads leading towards State Guest House Jamuna, including the Kakrail intersection, InterContinental Dhaka hotel crossing, and Mintu Road intersection.

They are controlling traffic and not allowing vehicles to enter the blocked areas.

Small processions, however, are being allowed to approach the protest site, though no rickshaws, motorcycles, or cars are being permitted within the barricades.

The sit-in began at 10pm on Thursday, shortly after Hasnat, chief organiser of the NCP’s southern region, issued the call in a Facebook post around 9:50pm.

The post came in the wake of former president Md Abdul Hamid’s departure from the country earlier that morning.

“In the absence of a clear roadmap to ensure trial of the ‘genocidal’ Awami League and a ban on its political activities, we will continue our sit-in in front of the chief advisor’s residence, Jamuna,” Hasnat wrote.

“We refuse to align with anyone who lacks a clear stance on banning the ‘genocidal’ Awami League.”