One month of mass uprising: Chief Adviser's message

Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of the interim government, has given a message on the one month anniversary of the fall of the Awami League government in the face of the student movement. He said, I am committed to fulfill the dream of building a new Bangladesh that our young revolutionaries have awakened in the minds of the people of the country. Inspired by the martyrs' sacrifice, we want to change the course of history. I want to start a new era.

He gave the message on Thursday (September 5). Earlier, after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on August 5, the interim government led by Nobelist Muhammad Yunus took charge on August 8.

The Chief Adviser said, we all took a pledge – we will not let the blood of martyrs and the sacrifice of wounded brothers fail us as a nation. We will never miss the opportunity they have created for us. Today, on their memorable day, I promised again that we will build the new Bangladesh of their dreams.

Professor Yunus' message to the readers is as follows:

Assalamu Alaikum

Today we celebrate the first month of Bangladesh's second independence. Hundreds of students and people from all walks of life made the supreme sacrifice for one of the most glorious revolutions in history.

They ended the 15-year dictatorship of the fascist Sheikh Hasina, who led a brutal genocide. Sheikh Hasina fled the country leaving behind a corrupt state and a fragile economy. It is our responsibility to establish our Bangladesh in its full glory.

Today I remember those brave youths, workers, day laborers, professionals who embraced death in confronting the heinous murderous fascist forces. Remembering the journalists who were killed during the movement. Today I pay my deepest respect to all those who martyred in this revolution.

I also salute the thousands of people who have been injured, maimed for life by life-threatening injuries, or lost their sight.

Last month, when I was entrusted to lead the interim government, Abu Saeed, impressed and inspired by the selfless sacrifices of all known and unknown martyrs, accepted this responsibility despite my limitations.

I am committed to fulfilling the dream that our young revolutionaries have awakened in the minds of the people of the country to build a new Bangladesh. Inspired by the martyrs' sacrifice, we want to change the course of history. I want to start a new era.

my dear young people,

You vowed to fulfill your dreams. Your dreams painted on the walls of cities and rural towns are still standing before us with colorful decorations.

During the revolution, you quit your studies, spend sleepless nights worrying about your friends, and take to the streets by day to resist the brutal regime, forever separated from each other. After the revolution ended, you guarded the country's religious minorities and their places of worship and took on the responsibility of managing traffic across the country. I know your studies have suffered a lot. So now it's time to get back to studying. Schools, colleges and universities have been opened. I urge you to return to the classroom and campus. Because we need a well-educated and skilled generation to take home the benefits of the revolution.

It's only been a month since the interim government took over. Nevertheless, we have started the work of important reforms to achieve the real goal of the revolution. Our first task is to ensure justice and accountability for the killings of July and August. We have invited the UN Human Rights Office to conduct an independent and impartial UN-led inquiry into the genocide. They came to this country and started their work.

I also spoke with top international legal experts in July and August in an effort to create an international standard tribunal to try people accused of crimes against humanity. We want extradition of murderers and repatriation of money embezzled by corrupt individuals, politicians and bureaucrats during the dictatorship. For this reason, I have started talking with specialist organizations.

One of our main responsibilities is to ensure free treatment of thousands of people who were seriously injured during the revolution. Scores of young students have lost their sight as miscreants in Hasina fired rubber bullets at their eyes. We will try our best to restore the light of their eyes. We are continuously working to compile the complete list of martyrs and injured. The main list is done. Now only the information of those whose dead bodies have been taken far away is being collected and the information is being given completeness. A foundation is in the final stages of creation to look after the hundreds of injured people who need long-term care, expensive treatment and the families of the martyrs. We will never forget those whose martyrdom gave birth to new Bangladesh.

We recently signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. As a result, there is an international commitment to end the “hidden culture” established by dictatorships. Separately, we are setting up a commission to investigate every case of enforced disappearance during the 15 years of fascist rule. To the families who have been agonizingly waiting for years to find their missing fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, we sympathize with you.

Mirrors have been closed. Very soon we will know about the pain and suffering of the siblings who are victims of enforced disappearance.

In my address to the nation at the end of last month, I gave a report on the important reforms that our government has undertaken so far. We are constantly meeting with political parties, editors, business leaders, civil society leaders and diplomats. They supported our reform initiatives. We are overwhelmed by the overwhelming support from our overseas friends. Our brave and patriotic expatriates are also engaged in efforts to rebuild the nation. I sincerely thank them all.

Today, on this day of monumental mourning, I express my infinite gratitude to every family of the martyrs and the injured. I will invite all the family members of the martyrs to the capital and meet them in a few days. I want to assure them that we will never betray the dreams of martyrs.

We are moving forward. Our big challenge now is to heal the wounds caused by misrule and dictatorship. For this we need unity and coordination.

We all vowed that the blood of the martyrs and the sacrifice of the wounded brothers and sisters would never fail us as a nation. We will never miss the opportunity that they have created for us. Today, on their memorable day, I once again promised that we will build the new Bangladesh of their dreams.

May Allah help us all.

Professor Muhammad Yunus

Bangladesh /KH