Students from various parts of the country have begun arriving at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar to participate in the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s "March for Unity".
Preparations for the event, aimed at ensuring its success, are nearing completion, as confirmed by the organisers.
Work on constructing the stage at Shaheed Minar commenced early on Tuesday (31 December).
Sources revealed that students from different districts embarked on their journey to Dhaka on the night of Monday (30 December), expressing hope that the mass rally would inspire a united pledge against fascism across the nation.
Speaking late on Monday night at the central office of the anti-discrimination student movement, Member Secretary Arif Sohel highlighted the historical context of the gathering.
He stated that the spontaneous participation of students and citizens during the July-August uprising brought forth public aspirations for dismantling the fascist regime and establishing a new political order.
Sohel emphasised, “The sacrifices of thousands of martyrs and injured fighters necessitated the drafting of the July uprising proclamation as a testament to public aspirations. The responsibility for this historic document naturally fell upon the anti-discrimination student movement, which had led the uprising. Despite numerous challenges, the movement took on the task of drafting and announcing the declaration on behalf of the students and citizens of Bangladesh.”
Continuing, he remarked, “Our initiative has sparked widespread and positive responses among the students and citizens of Bangladesh. Responding to this momentum, steps have been taken at the state level to draft a national consensus-based July Declaration. This initiative has been widely welcomed by the people.”
Sohel added, “As part of this initiative, the 'March for Unity' has been announced to take place at 3pm on Tuesday (31 December), at the Central Shaheed Minar. We fervently urge the general public to participate spontaneously in this programme, maintaining the enthusiasm with which they have already organised themselves.”
The announcement was made during a press conference attended by Hasnat Abdullah, the convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, and Sarzis Alam, its coordinator.
