Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, Advisor to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has said that a whole generation in the country has grown up without knowing what a fair election looks like.
He was speaking on Monday at the opening ceremony of a workshop on the Commonwealth Charter in Gulshan, Dhaka.
Talking about the past authoritarian government, he said, “They used to arrest people without reason and were involved in extrajudicial killings. During their 16 years in power, they didn’t follow even the basic rules of democracy. They stayed in power without holding any proper elections. An entire generation never got to experience fair voting.”
He also said that the youth of Bangladesh gave their lives during the July mass movement to fight for freedom of speech and justice. “In the past 16 years, dictatorship destroyed democracy. People lost their freedom of speech and many of their rights. The previous rulers were involved in crimes, including sending money abroad illegally,” he added.
Asif Mahmud said that the youth had all their rights taken away, including the right to speak freely. But the July Uprising changed everything. “Young people broke the system of dictatorship and started a new era. Because of their courage and sacrifice, we can now dream of building a better country,” he said.
He believes that if the current interim government’s reform plans are followed properly, Bangladesh will not go back to dictatorship again. The government has created several reform commissions that collected ideas from people across the country and gave 121 proposals that can be done soon.
Asif Mahmud hopes that the July Charter will fulfill the hopes of the people. “This charter will help us build fair democracy and a bright future. The dream that the youth had during the movement will come true through this charter,” he said.
He also said that the interim government is working together with young people and different groups across the country. “They are committed to restoring democracy and making Bangladesh peaceful and prosperous. That’s why today’s workshop is very important. It will help prepare the youth to build the future,” he added.
