‘Didn’t issue statement withdrawing movement; its fake’

The coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement today said they did not withdraw the protest programme with a seven-day ultimatum to the government.

"It's fake. We did not issue such a statement. It's edited, and no one should be misled by it," Asif Mahmud, one of the coordinators of the movement, told The Daily Star.

"Our decision not to participate in discussions with the government is unanimous. The movement will continue," he added.

He came up with the statement as statement is circulating on social media saying that the protest programme including the full-scale non-cooperation movement, was withdrawn with the seven-day ultimatum to the government.

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Another coordinator, Nahid Islam, said, "We have not announced any withdrawal of the movement. This is government propaganda. There is no question of making such an announcement."

"We will hold protest marches nationwide today, and at 3:00pm, we will gather at the Shaheed Minar. Starting tomorrow, we will launch a non-cooperation movement. We will formally present the outline of the movement today, which will continue," he added.

The circulated social media statement mentioned, "To prevent anyone from exploiting our peaceful movement for their own interests and creating an unstable environment in the country, we, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, are withdrawing all our upcoming programs."

"We give the government a seven-day deadline. Within this period, the perpetrators must be brought to justice, and the judiciary must be allowed to function independently. If our demands are not met within this time frame, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement will announce a tougher programme," it added.