Sarjis Alam resigns from July Shaheed Smrity Foundation

Md Sarjis Alam, a key coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination platform, has resigned as the general secretary of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation amid criticism.

Sarjis announced his resignation on his verified Facebook account on Wednesday morning.

‘I am no longer serving as the general secretary of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation. To accelerate the activities of this foundation, changes have been made to its constitution, structure, and operational processes,’ he wrote in the FB post.

He said that the executive committee would oversee all aspects of office management, with the chief executive officer, currently Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho, serving as the head of the office.

The governing body, comprising the chief advisor and four advisors to health, social welfare, local government, and ICT, would focus on policymaking for the foundation, he said, adding that the position of ‘general secretary’ no longer exists in the foundation.

Mentioning that the foundation began its financial assistance on October 1, and the office officially opened on October 15, he assumed the role of general secretary on October 21 and served for approximately two months and 10 days until December 31.

His signing authority was handed over on January 7, marking the official end of his responsibilities.

During his tenure, he said that he did not take any salary or honorarium from the foundation.

‘I served the foundation for as long as I could give it my time. When I realised that I could no longer give time to the organisation, I decided to step down. To me, acknowledging one’s limitations and acting accordingly is not a sign of weakness but that requires honest courage. I have tried to remain honest to my responsibilities,’ the announcement read.

There were allegations that Sarjis was not regular at the foundation and that the disbursement of financial assistance to the victims of the July-August mass uprising was delayed due to his signature.