Amid widespread speculation surrounding the announcement of the July uprising proclamation, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has urged the public to gather at the Central Shaheed Minar on Tuesday (31 December) in a show of solidarity.
Although the proclamation will not be declared as initially scheduled, the student organisation plans to proceed with its "March for Unity" programme at the iconic Dhaka venue.
The announcement of the gathering was made at approximately 1:45am on Tuesday, with Arif Sohel, member secretary of the platform, urging widespread participation.
Addressing the announcement, the platform's Chief Organiser Hannan Masud reaffirmed their commitment to holding the event.
He stated, "We revolutionaries will gather at the Central Shaheed Minar as per our previous announcement. The [proclamation] declaration will come from the government, but that will not stop us from gathering."
Masud highlighted his group’s support for the government’s initiative to draft the proclamation through a process of national consensus.
"We wanted to declare the proclamation. We approached the government and political parties to accept it as a historical document," he explained.
According to Masud, various foreign and domestic conspiracies sought to obstruct the proclamation's presentation, but the interim government intervened to counter such efforts.
"Our first victory is that the interim government has agreed to our proclamation," he remarked.
Following the government's announcement regarding the proclamation, discussions were held by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement and the National Citizens' Committee to decide the fate of Tuesday's planned event.
Separate meetings began at 10pm on Monday (30 December) at their respective offices in Banglamotor, culminating in a decision around 3am.
Several leaders of the National Citizens' Committee confirmed that their meeting resulted in a resolution to suspend their participation in the Shaheed Minar programme.
A delegation from the Committee subsequently met with the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement to communicate this decision, but sources reported rising internal tensions within the two groups.
Disagreements regarding the event led to a commotion among leaders and activists.
Despite these internal challenges, the "March for Unity" remains scheduled for 3pm on Tuesday, with participants expected to include families of martyrs, injured individuals, and Dhaka residents, evoking the spirit of 5 August's historic events.
