'Fake' freedom fighters on memorial plaque

The newly built memorial in Cox's Bazar which allegedly contains names of some fake freedom fighters. PHOTO: STAR

The memorial built near the Shaheed Minar at the Shaheed Swarani in the town is ready for inauguration but the date is yet to be fixed.

The alleged anomaly triggered protests in the town by freedom fighters and political parties.

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They held a rally and formed a human chain in front of the deputy commissioners office yesterday demanding removal of names from the plaque.

They also brought out a procession in the town on Thursday and submitted a memorandum to the DC protesting the names.

Besides freedom fighters, yesterday's protests were joined by activists of Awami League and its student front Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), Chhatrra Union and Bangladesher Samajtantric Dal.

Local leaders of Muktijoddha Sangsad told this correspondent that the memorial plaque contains names of only 10 freedom fighters. These are of Abdul Hamid, Mokbul Ahamed, Golam Sattar, Mohammed Shiddique Ahmed, Golam Kader, Abul Kalam, Ezahar Miya, Lal Mohammed, Shamsul Alam and S M Jahangir.

Names of many more freedom fighters are left out. They include Farhad, Shuvas, Abdul Hamid, Bashir Ahmed, Sharif, Shoshi Kumar Baroya, Eliyas, A T M Zafor Alam, Nirmol Baroya, Golam Kader and Golam Sattar, they claimed.

They said the plaque contains at least names of five people who were not freedom fighters.

The memorial has been built by the district administration.

The Sangsad leaders said they urged the district administration to remove or correct the names, but their request went unheeded.

This is a deep rooted conspiracy to distort the history of Liberation War, they said.

As protests for correcting the names mounted, Deputy Commissioner Habibur Rahman told newsmen that the administration only engraved the names given by the government. WE just followed the government list, he said.