Nahid wants July charter, declaration by August 5

A day after announcing that the National Citizen Party will unveil a "July Declaration" itself, its Convenor Nahid Islam yesterday hinted that the party still believes the government can prepare the document by August 5. 

"We firmly want the July Declaration and the July Charter to be prepared by August 5, that is, the 36th of July.  Let all parties make every concession necessary and extend their full cooperation to the government," he said on Facebook yesterday.    

The NCP had earlier said it decided to announce the July Declaration on August 3. "Since the government has failed, we will not rely on anyone. It's now our responsibility to present the proclamation on behalf of the students and the people," Nahid said at a press conference on Sunday.

Yesterday, he wrote that it is possible to publish both the declaration and the charter by July.

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Consensus talks: Poor progress may delay July Charter

"We want the state to release the declaration with a commitment to incorporate it into the constitution in the future.

"But if the government does not take any initiative, we will not sit idly. We will surely publish our own," he said, encouraging other groups to do the same.

"The government will have to accept it if we can make a document together," he said.

"The July Declaration will be read out by the families of those martyred during the uprising," the NCP leader added.

Nahid said the July Declaration should serve as a national document, outlining the historical context of the uprising, recognising the contributions of those who were killed, injured, or led the movement, and the political demands that emerged from it.

It is intended to gain legal and constitutional validity, he said.

The NCP leader said the government had initially proposed to release the declaration in consultation with all political parties, leading student groups to postpone their planned unilateral release on December 31 last year.

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Consensus talks: Poor progress may delay July Charter

Drafts were submitted by several organisations, including the Student Against Discrimination, with the expectation that the government would compile a unified version.

However, Nahid said, the government missed multiple deadlines and failed to clarify the delays.

He added that the July Charter would lay out the outline for structural reforms to the state and specify which parts of the constitution need to be amended.

This would be a consensus document signed by all parties, and while the method of implementation, whether by referendum, constituent assembly, or parliamentary amendment, remains undecided, any future government would be bound to implement it, he said.

"If any party disrupts the consensus process for partisan gain, the government must not hesitate to fulfil this historic responsibility by working with all other parties and the general public.

"Without presenting the July Charter and Declaration, the government will not have the authority to take any initiative in celebrating July," he added.