Thousands protest in London

Ansar Ahmed Ullah:

In response to the call of the UK Awami League, a rally of thousands of people was held in front of the Parliament in London today, 29 July, to protest the violence, arson and destruction that occurred in Bangladesh around the ongoing quota movement. Responding to the call of the United Kingdom Awami League, its affiliates and various progressive social, cultural and human rights organisations gathered there.

Members of the UK Parliament, Deputy Speaker Caroline Knox, Paulie Hamilton MP, State Minister Jim McMahon MP, Emma Loyal Buck, MP and Afzal Khan MP, Richard Burgoyne MP, and Lee Anderson MP came and met the rally organisers. The leaders discussed the current affairs of Bangladesh with them and handed over a memorandum. MPs responded by saying they are aware of the matter and will discuss it seriously.

General Secretary of UK Awami League, Syed Sajidur Rahman Faruk, presided over the meeting under the chairmanship of United Kingdom Awami League President Sultan Mahmud Shariff. Other leaders of the Awami League, affiliated organisations, and branches from different cities in the United Kingdom spoke at the rally.

In the speech of all the speakers, the talk of various barbaric killings and destruction organised in Bangladesh came up as how right-wing BNP and Islamist Jamaat tried to start a civil war in the country by pushing ordinary students to death. Speakers said Jamaat BNP should take responsibility for these murders. UK Awami League also demanded that how the ordinary students were killed in the protest should come before the nation through a proper investigation. We are always with Bangladesh.

United Kingdom Awami League President Sultan Mahmud Shariff said in the rally in front of the Parliament of Britain in the presence of thousands of people, ‘In every difficult time of Bangladesh, the expatriates of the United Kingdom have stood by the side of Bangladesh on behalf of Bangladesh. Today’s gathering also proves that. Those defeated in the War of Liberation, the defeated power, have repeatedly tried to strike against independent Bangladesh. But never succeeded. In the name of the student movement, the trained killers of Jamaat BNP indulged in killings, vandalism, and arson across the country.’ He added that today, we have gathered here to inform the members of the British Parliament about those issues. United Kingdom Awami League General Secretary Syed Sajidur Rahman Faruk said the conspirators wanted to strike to disrupt the progress of Bangladesh’s development repeatedly. When Bangladesh is a role model in the world under the leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, their goal is to destroy that development, which has now become clear. By causing this barbaric destruction, this Jamaat BNP clique is spreading various rumours and trying to destabilise the country. They are trying to prove Bangladesh as a failed state by spreading those rumours abroad. Today, you can see not only the Awami League but thousands of people who believe in the ideology of the liberation war, non-sectarian, progressive, development-prosperous Bangladesh have gathered here.

We want to tell the whole world through the British Lord, MP and media how this traitorous gang has carried out destruction and killings in Bangladesh using students as human shields. We want to say that we, ordinary people, favour peace and prosperity, and we are on the side of Bangladesh.