July Proclamation Declared, Martyrs Honored as 'National Heroes'

Dhaka, August 5, 2025: In a landmark event, Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, delivered the much-anticipated "July Proclamation" at the July Renaissance Ceremony held at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital. The proclamation, fulfilling a longstanding demand of the student-public uprising, officially declared the martyrs of the July 2024 movement as "National Heroes."

The proclamation, consisting of 28 points, reflects the aspirations of the Bangladeshi people following the victorious mass uprising of 2024. It expresses the intent to grant state and constitutional recognition to the Student-People’s Uprising of 2024, ensuring its inclusion in the schedule of a reformed constitution by the government elected in the upcoming election. The proclamation was drafted as a reflection of the people’s aspirations following the triumph of the mass uprising on August 5, 2024.

**Key Points of the July Proclamation:** 1. The people of this land, continuing the legacy of anti-colonial struggles, resisted the oppression and exploitation by Pakistan’s authoritarian rulers for 23 years, leading to the declaration of independence on March 26, 1971, and the establishment of Bangladesh through a bloody liberation war. 2. The people of Bangladesh have made supreme sacrifices to realize the vision of a liberal democratic state based on equality, human dignity, and social justice, as outlined in the Declaration of Independence. 3. The 1972 Constitution of independent Bangladesh failed to fulfill the aspirations of the Liberation War due to its flawed drafting, structural weaknesses, and misuse, undermining democracy and state institutions. 4. The post-independence Awami League government established a one-party system under BAKSAL, suppressing freedom of expression and judicial independence, leading to the unified soldier-people’s revolution on November 7, 1975, which paved the way for multi-party democracy and restored freedoms. 5. In the 1980s, a nine-year struggle by students and the public against military dictatorship culminated in the 1990 mass uprising, reintroducing parliamentary democracy in 1991. 6. Domestic and foreign conspiracies disrupted democratic government transitions, enabling Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule through the 1/11 conspiracy. 7. Over the past 16 years, unconstitutional amendments facilitated a fascist, undemocratic, and anti-people regime, consolidating one-party dominance. 8. Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government’s misrule, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and suppression of free speech destroyed state and constitutional institutions. 9. Under Hasina’s leadership, Bangladesh was transformed into a fascist, mafia-like, and failed state, tarnishing its international reputation. 10. Rampant corruption, bank looting, money laundering, and destruction of economic institutions under the guise of development devastated Bangladesh’s economic potential and endangered its environment, biodiversity, and climate. 11. For nearly 16 years, political parties, students, workers, and citizens faced relentless democratic struggles, enduring imprisonment, attacks, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. 12. The Awami League government suppressed just movements against foreign domination and exploitation with brutal force. 13. The regime conducted farcical elections in 2014, 2018, and 2024, depriving citizens of their voting and representation rights. 14. Dissenting political leaders, students, and youth faced brutal persecution, while discriminatory quota systems and partisan recruitment in government jobs fueled public resentment. 15. Prolonged repression of opposition groups sparked widespread public outrage, leading to sustained anti-fascist struggles through legal means. 16. During the anti-discrimination student movement against unfair quota systems and corruption, the Awami League government unleashed widespread repression, barbaric atrocities, and crimes against humanity, transforming nationwide protests into a mass uprising. 17. The united resistance of students, political parties, religious, social, cultural, professional, and labor organizations against fascist forces resulted in nearly a thousand indiscriminate killings, including women and children, with countless others disabled or blinded. In the final phase, military personnel supported the people’s democratic struggle. 18. The anti-discrimination student movement’s call for non-cooperation and a Long March to Dhaka on August 5, 2024, forced Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country amid intense public protests. 19. The sovereignty expressed through the mass uprising is politically and legally justified and internationally recognized. 20. Following public demand, the illegal 12th National Parliament was dissolved, and an interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus was formed on August 8, 2024, per Article 106 of the Constitution and Supreme Court advice. 21. The uprising expressed the people’s desire to build a society and state free from fascism, discrimination, and corruption. 22. The people aim to ensure good governance, fair elections, prevention of fascist recurrence, rule of law, and economic and social justice through democratic reforms of the constitution and state institutions. 23. The people demand swift justice for enforced disappearances, murders, mass killings, crimes against humanity, and state property looting committed by the fascist Awami League regime over the past 16 years and during the July 2024 uprising. 24. The martyrs of the July uprising are declared National Heroes, with commitments to provide legal protection to their families, injured activists, and student protesters. 25. The people aspire to establish a democratic state and society free from corruption, exploitation, and discrimination through a fair and neutral election and constitutional reforms, fulfilling the youth’s aspirations. 26. The people expect an inclusive and sustainable development strategy to protect the rights of current and future generations while preserving the environment and climate. 27. The Student-People’s Uprising of 2024 will receive state and constitutional recognition, with the proclamation included in the reformed constitution’s schedule. 28. The proclamation was formulated to reflect the aspirations of the Bangladeshi people victorious in the August 5, 2024, uprising.

The proclamation marks a pivotal moment in Bangladesh’s journey toward a democratic, just, and inclusive future, honoring the sacrifices of those who fought for change.