San Francisco Frontiers - Bangladesh student leader aims to finish what uprising began

Nahid Islam, 27, was one of the most visible faces of the youth-led protest campaign Students Against Discrimination, which brought down the curtain on Hasina's iron-fisted rule after 15 years.

The sociology graduate resigned last week from the interim administration that replaced her to lead the new National Citizens Party (NCP), arguing that Bangladesh's political establishment lacked the will for far-reaching reforms.

"They were not even interested in the reforms for which young people sacrificed their lives," Nahid told AFP.

"Because we have an obligation to implement what we pledged during the mass uprising and its aftermath, we decided to form a political party," he said.

More than 800 people were killed in last year's uprising, and Nahid was briefly detained alongside other student leaders in an unsuccessful effort to force them to call off the protests.

After Hasina's toppling, he accepted an invitation to join an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84.

Nahid's decision to helm the NCP necessitated his departure from an administration expected to act as a politically neutral umpire while preparing Bangladesh for fresh elections.

Polls are due by March next year and are widely expected to be won by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of the country's oldest political forces.

Nahid said that even if he and his comrades could not form the next government, they had inaugurated a political force set to be influential for decades to come.

"Nobody knew that there would be an uprising, but it happened," he said.

"I sincerely hope and I believe that we are going to win this time. But this election is not the end of the world... Our target is to sustain this energy for another 50 or 100 or more years."

- 'Believe in inclusivity' -

The NCP is at loggerheads with its main rival over when the next national election should be staged, with the BNP arguing that fresh polls should be staged as soon as possible to empower a government with a public mandate.

"We are often accused of conspiring to delay the election, but that is not true," Nahid said.

But he added that it was "not possible" to stage an election while the country still faced issues maintaining law and order after Hasina's ouster.

His party are also campaigning for a simultaneous vote to establish a citizens' assembly, to be tasked with root and branch reform of Bangladesh's constitution aimed at ensuring a lasting democracy.

The NCP has sought to position itself as a big tent party, open to all people seeking to bring forward the spirit of last year's political tumult.

But ructions within the party have already spilt over into public view since its founding last month.

A gay rights activist was removed from the party's leadership committee days after it was formed following demands from right-wing groups in the Muslim-majority country.

"We believe in inclusivity, but there are certain boundaries set by religious and cultural norms," Nahid said, adding that the party still had an admirable record on diversity.

"We have brought women to the forefront and included representatives from all castes and creeds," he said. "We will strive to ensure that all citizens can enjoy their rights."

H.Reyes--SFF