DU Students Hold Midnight Protest, Demand AL Ban

Musaddik Ali Ibne Mohammad, a student from DU's Bangla Department, announced their next protest rally, which is set to take place at 3:00 pm on Saturday, March 22, at the Raju Memorial Sculpture. He urged fellow students to join the rally and also encouraged other university students across the country to organize similar protests in solidarity.

Around 2:00 am, students from various halls gathered at the TSC (Teacher-Student Centre) area, chanting slogans. The group dispersed a couple of hours later, but not before making their stance clear. Musaddik Ali, who participated in the protest, stated, "The Awami League has committed genocide, and over 30,000 people were injured during their movement. Therefore, the Awami League has no right to continue its political existence. This party must be banned immediately."

The protest was sparked by allegations made by Hasnat Abdullah, the chief organizer (South) of the National Citizen Party (NCP). Abdullah claimed that a vested group was conspiring to bring the Awami League back to power and called for the party’s permanent ban. In a Facebook post on March 21, he wrote, "Let us unite against the Awami League… If the Awami League returns to politics, the July [2024 uprising] will be a failure. As long as there is a single drop of blood in our veins, we will not let the blood of our martyrs go to waste. After August 5, there will be no chance for the Awami League to return to power in Bangladesh... The Awami League must be banned once and for all."

Earlier in the day, a delegation from the International Crisis Group, led by Dr. Comfort Ero, met with the Chief Adviser, who stated that the interim government had no plans to ban the Awami League as a political party. However, the Adviser confirmed that individuals within the AL leadership accused of crimes, including murder and crimes against humanity, would be tried in Bangladesh's courts.