[Bangladesh 2024 Campaign] 14. Gwangju Uprising and Monsoon Revolution

Upon receiving the email request from Mr. Mustain Billa Zahir, Ms. Lee Go-eun and I considered it in various angles. We researched the Monsoon Revolution reported in the international media for about a month and tried to understand the overall situation in Bangladesh.

 

https://www.thedailystar.net/tags/bangladesh-july-revolution

Bangladesh July revolution

 

 

Finally, on September 27th, we held an executive committee meeting at the <615 Chorus> tavern, and decided to carry out the Bangladesh campaign as the last project of the year.

 

This decision was largely driven by the fact that the Monsoon Revolution was a pro-democracy movement that, like the Gwangju Uprising, came at a high cost. Around 650 people were reportedly killed by police fire during anti-government protests, but as investigations continue, the death toll has risen to around 1,500 as of the end of October. In addition, there are more than 30,000 victims of state violence who have been injured severely enough to cause blindness or disability. 

 

 

The Chun Doo-hwan regime announced that there were 194 victims of the Gwangju Uprising, but no one believes this. The survivors and bereaved families have claimed that there were more than 2,000 victims. While the Gwangju Uprising was not properly investigated for decades, the Monsoon Revolution overthrew the Hasina regime and the investigation could begin immediately.

 

Mr. Zahir connects Bangladesh's Monsoon Revolution to the Gwangju Uprising in Korea. Since attending the Gwangju 518 Academy in the summer of 2012, he has been deeply interested in the Gwangju Uprising, massacre, and subsequent resistance and pro-democracy movements in Korea, which led him to graduate study of Korea's pro-democracy movement at Sungkonghoe University.

In his thesis, he highlighted the critical role of civil society in the democratization process in Asia, which led him to found a human rights education program for youths and students after returning to Bangladesh. 

 

 

After receiving his degree, Mr. Zahir participated in a research project for the KDF and visited Gwangju several times, and in 2023, he was appointed as an international democratization ambassador by the KDF. In the Interim Transitional Government formed after the success of the Monsoon Revolution, Mr. Zahir serves as a member of the Constitutional Reform Commission.

 

 

Mr. Zahir wanted to learn about how the victims of the Gwangju Uprising were identified and recorded, how the bereaved families were honored, and how those responsible for the firing were punished. Three of the four items Mr. Zahir requested in his initial email were to learn about the experience of the Gwangju Uprising.

 

He wanted Korean organizations to advise him on (1) how to document the Monsoon Revolution, (2) systematic ways to uncover and hold the state violence that occurred during the revolution and (3) help him establish a memorial to the Monsoon Revolution modeled after the May 18 Memorial Hall.

 

 

It was in response to such requests that <KDF>, <Peace Momo>, and <Monsoon Club> invited the Bangladeshi delegation and organized their visit to Gwangju. During their three-day visit to Gwangju, the delegation visited (1) the May 18 National Cemetery, (2) the May 18 Foundation, and (3) May 18 Archives.

 

 

The group also met with people of Gwangju and reiterated that the Monsoon Revolution was a pro-democracy movement whose background, course, and outcome were in the same vein and trajectory as the Gwangju Uprising.

 

 

While Mr. Zahir often equated the Monsoon Revolution with the Gwangju Uprising, there are differences. While the Gwangju Uprising of 1980 was crushed by the coup forces of Chun Doo-hwan, the Monsoon Revolution of 2024 succeeded in toppling the Hasina regime despite great sacrifices.

 

In a way, I think the Monsoon Revolution is like the Korean pro-democracy movement from the Gwangju Uprising (1980) to the Candlelight Revolution (2016) all rolled into one.

 

 

Bangladesh still faces the threats of the military and remnants of former previous regime. If the interim transitional government can overcome these challenges and bring the revolution to a peaceful conclusion, it will be a major milestone in Bangladesh’s democratization.

 

It is not unreasonable for Bangladeshis to call the Monsoon Revolution their “second independence.” (jc, 2024/11/13)