Sixty student leaders involved in last year's July Uprising rejected the "July Declaration" in a joint statement issued Sunday night, calling it a farce designed to mislead the people.
They also called on all students, farmers, workers and professionals regardless of caste or creed to play an active role in formulating a new declaration.
The July Declaration was formally announced by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on 5 August, marking the first anniversary of the ouster of the Awami League government.
The statement said that the July Uprising, made possible by the bloody sacrifice of thousands of martyrs and injured citizens, freed the country from the Awami League's fascist rule. The people definitively rejected the authority of the exploitative and oppressive old police, courts, laws and constitution and have taken the responsibility of determining their own destiny, it added.
The student leaders claimed that they first proposed a national government to take responsibility for the formation of a new state, but exploitative political parties rejected it and created obstacles. The student leadership then formed an interim government that accepted the old exploitative structure. As a result, the aspirations of the people were hindered.
The statement further said that the traditional bureaucracy, corrupt politicians and plundering oligarchs tried to trap the student leadership in scandals relating to corruption, extortion and crime.
They said that all classes of people, including students of public and private universities, national universities, madrasas, farmers, as well as unemployed youth and professionals, participated in the mass uprising but have been denied power. Due to this anger, the demand for the formulation of a July Declaration which truly reflects the peoples' aspirations has increased, the statement mentioned.
However, due to pressure from exploitative forces, the declaration reading programme was disrupted on 31 December and a "fraudulent and meaningless document" called the July Declaration was launched on 5 August.
"We believe that the sacrifices of thousands of martyrs and injured brothers and sisters will not go in vain. Inspired by their courage and patriotism, we will continue the struggle to form a truly people-friendly and people-welfare Bangladesh state at any cost, the statement read.
The statement also mentioned, "A constituent assembly capable of representing the nation, regardless of class, profession, religion and caste, must be elected and a new people-friendly constitution must be formulated in accordance with the actual declaration."
The statement was signed by Arif Sohel of Jahangirnagar University, Abdullah Salehin of Dhaka University, Md Wahid Uz Zaman, Hamza Mahbub, Md Saiful Islam and Md Russell Ahmed of Chittagong University, Shibli Sadi of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Zahurul Tanvir of Khulna University, Shakib Hossain of Comilla University, Nazifa Jannat of East West University, Md. Russell of Bangladesh Islamic University, and Swarna Riya of Jagannath University, among others.
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