February 6, 2025
Dhaka – The Awami Alliance, once the most dominant political force in Bangladesh, is now in a strange and unstable situation. Faced with a large student-led uprising, its leadership was deprived of its power. The party is now trying to find its position again through a one-month protest plan. This raises a key question: Is Awami League really interested in the way to achieve democracy, or is it just trying to survive?
Awami League’s current dilemma is largely its own production. The party once led the country's liberation struggle and positioned itself as a beacon of democracy, gradually becoming an authoritarian entity. Over the past decade, allegations of electoral manipulation, political repression and corruption have eroded its credibility. In 2014, the 2018 and 2024 parliamentary elections were charged with voting charges. Just a few months after the 2024 election, a massive uprising (drained by students' protests against the restoration of the quota system in government services) has invalidated Sheikh Hasina's government. This strike is not only a transformation in governance, but also an obvious rejection of the undemocratic practices and governance failures of the party’s people.
However, the party seems to have learned little from its fall. Its flyers were recently distributed to justify its protest movement, with little evidence of introspection or reform. This remark remains unchanged, reflecting an outdated political way of thinking that cannot solve the new reality of Bangladesh. The obvious lack of recognition of public dissatisfaction led to its downfall, including the deaths of protesters during the July-August uprising. Rather than expressing condolences or seeking justice to those who have lost their lives, the party is focused on regaining power without addressing its past violations.
The hypocrisy in the Awami League protests is obvious. The tactics it now condemns once the cornerstone of its own governance strategy, which are huge strategies for arrests, suppression of dissent and human rights violations. While in power, the Awami Alliance had little tolerance for opposition protests and often hired law enforcement agencies to suppress them. Now, I find myself on the receiving end of similar treatment and suddenly seek to advocate democratic rights. This selective anger has raised doubts about the party’s true intentions.
Meanwhile, the Provisional Government, led by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, took a firm stance and refused to allow the Awami coalition to hold demonstrations unless it is responsible for human rights violations committed under its dominance . The government insists that the party must seek public forgiveness before re-entering mainstream politics. While some may consider this approach to be demanding, it emphasizes the need for accountability and political reform in Bangladesh.
The Awami League's one-month protests included demonstrations, strikes and blockades, citing such as arrests of its leaders, economic instability and alleged human rights violations in the interim government. Even if some of these issues work, the party's selective anger will reduce its credibility. It must recognize that its own governance is full of economic mismanagement, freedom of speech and political violence.
The party continues to deny that public sentiment will only worsen its plight. Instead of seeing the people’s movement as a legitimate expression of frustration, it continues to use it as a conspiracy. This deep tendency to destruction as foreign or domestic is one of the key reasons why it is so isolated from the people of the country. The fact that the AWAMI Alliance did not move from this position shows that it is intentional refusal to change, or that it is completely incapable of grasping the current reality. If this trend persists, it will be difficult for the party to re-enter the political mainstream in Bangladesh in the future.
If Awami League wants to restore credibility, it must first begin the process of real self-reflection and reform. This means acknowledging past mistakes, eliminating elements of corruption, and rebuilding trust with those who have been alienated. Without these fundamental changes, its current sports risk is seen as a desperate attempt to obtain some correlation.
The responsibility for resolving misconduct at Awami League is not solely dependent on the interim government. Political opposition also must mobilize public support through democratic means rather than relying on the government's suppression of the sideline Awami Alliance. The real political change in Bangladesh will be achieved not through repression, but through the tasks of the people.
Ultimately, the protests of the Awami League reflect a party that is striving for its own political survival, rather than fighting for democracy. Unless it undergoes a sincere transformation, it will remain trapped in a politically irrelevant cycle that cannot restore the trust of the people of Bangladesh.
Mohammad al-Masum Molla is a reporter for The Daily Star. You can contact him at masumjrn@gmail.com.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
