Bangladesh parties sign reform charter, but student and leftist group stays away

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s ambitious “July Charter” for state reform, drafted after last year’s deadly student-led uprising, was backed by the majority of political parties on Friday, but a signing ceremony was marred by street violence and boycotted by a key group.

The charter seeks to reshape the country’s politics and institutions and give constitutional recognition to the 2024 uprising that forced Sheikh Hasina, a long-time prime minister, to flee to India.

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, said the signing of the charter marked a major step toward restoring political order and preparing for national elections scheduled for February 2026.

“It’s the birth of a new Bangladesh,” Yunus said at the ceremony.

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BOYCOTTS AND TEAR GAS

The National Citizens Party, formed by the leaders of last year’s movement and four left-leaning parties, did not attend, however. The NCP said it stayed away due to the lack of a legal framework or binding guarantee for implementing the commitments made in the charter.

“The signing of the July Charter by a few political parties does not constitute national unity,” NCP convener Nahid Islam said.

The day’s events were earlier marred by clashes outside the venue, where families of those killed and injured during the 2024 uprising were staging a protest.

Police used batons, tear gas, and stun grenades to disperse the demonstrators, leaving several injured, witnesses said.

The National Consensus Commission announced a last-minute amendment to the charter on Friday, describing it as an “urgent revision” made in response to the demands of those who took part in the 2024 uprising.

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The updated clause pledged justice for victims of disappearances, killings and torture during the rule of Hasina’s Awami League, and also for those killed and injured during the July-August 2024 uprising.

Among those signing the document on Friday were members of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party and several centrist and regional groups that have expressed support for the reform process.