The Dhaka-Chattogram long march planned by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance on 5 September will be held peacefully and without allowing any scope for provocation, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said on Tuesday.
“This is a peaceful and organised political programme. The people of the country will make this long march successful, InshaAllah, without giving any scope for provocation,” he said at a press briefing at the Jamaat central office in the capital.
The 11-party alliance will hold the long march with six demands, including implementation of the public mandate reflected in the referendum, trial of the July mass killings, resolution of the energy and fertiliser crises, control of prices of essential commodities, improvement of law and order, and an end to politicisation at all levels of the administration.
Jamaat Ameer and opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman, along with other senior leaders of the alliance, will lead the long march, Golam Porwar said.
“We are moving ahead with extensive preparations. We are seeing strong public response, enthusiasm and excitement over the programme,” he said.
The long march will begin from Shapla Chattar in Dhaka at 7am on 5 September and end at the historic Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram, he said.
Roadside rallies will be held at several important points along the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway during the journey, he added.
Porwar said they expect more than 1,000 vehicles to join the long march, while leaders, activists and ordinary people from different districts, upazilas and metropolitan areas along the route will participate.
He said the alliance held a meeting with police officials on Monday evening to ensure the programme remained peaceful and disciplined.
“We informed the police administration about the route, roadside rallies and different spots of the programme,” he said. The Jamaat leader said precautionary measures were being taken to reduce inconvenience to regular commuters.
“We have planned to keep the long-march convoy on one side of the highway so that regular vehicles can continue to use the other side,” he said.
“However, such a large programme may cause temporary inconvenience in some areas. We apologise to the people of the country in advance,” he added.
Porwar sought cooperation from the administration, political parties, the media and people from all sections of society to make the programme successful.
Jamaat Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, Dhaka South city unit Ameer Nurul Isl
