“July Martyrs Were ‘Sold’: Coordinators Now Own Crores,” Alleges Father of a July Martyr

“July Martyrs Were ‘Sold’: Coordinators Now Own Crores,” Alleges Father of a July Martyr

Abdur Rahim Ripon

Staff Reporter

Family members of those martyred in the July uprising have expressed deep anger at the interim government and the student coordinators who led the movement, alleging failure to ensure justice for the killings and to secure the rightful entitlements of martyr families. They claim that while some student coordinators have become owners of assets worth crores by exploiting the blood of the martyrs, the martyr families themselves are still suffering from insecurity and are deprived of justice.
These allegations were made on Saturday at a press conference organized by the July 24 Martyr Families Society at the Maulana Akram Khan Hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka. More than a hundred members of martyr families attended the event.
At the press conference, Abul Hasan, father of July martyr Shahriar Hasan Alvi, said:
“Using the sacrifice of our children, student coordinators have enriched themselves beyond imagination. They have sold out the martyr families. They formed political parties, moved closer to power, yet we are still forced to take to the streets demanding justice for the murderers of our children.”
He alleged that despite one and a half years having passed since the interim government assumed office, there has been no visible progress in the judicial process related to the July killings. In his words:
“In the name of justice, we are only being told bedtime stories. If this government were truly grateful, we would have seen justice by now.”
Speakers at the press conference said that many martyr families and injured individuals are still living under severe insecurity. It was also alleged that a large number of the injured have not received adequate medical treatment. At the same time, they demanded that the actual number of July martyrs and July fighters be officially included in the government gazette.
On behalf of the martyr families, six demands were placed, including:

• 
  Immediate trial of those responsible for the July killings
  Arrest of the accused
  Legal protection for the families of martyrs and the injured
  State responsibility for the education of orphaned children of the martyrs
  The speakers issued a warning that if their demands are not met, they will be compelled to announce more stringent protest programs in the coming days.