Join struggle to build Sonar Bangla
PM urges countrymen
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called upon the countrymen to march forward with bold steps in the struggle to build a Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal) as dreamt by Bangabandhu by turning the grief of the eternal loss of the Father of the Nation into strength.
“Let us march forward with bold steps in the struggle to build a Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Bangabandhu by turning the grief of the eternal loss of the Father of the Nation into strength,” Hasina said in a message on the eve of the National Mourning Day.
She added: “We must win the struggle to establish an economically-solvent democratic and non-communal Bangladesh which will be totally free from hunger, illiteracy and poverty.”
Hasina said the killers could have killed Bangabandhu but they could not kill his dream and ideals. The 15 crore people of this country have been nurturing in their hearts the ideals of sacrifice of Bangabandhu, she added.
“We have freed the nation from the stigma to some extent through implementing the verdict of the Bangabandhu killing case. Steps have been taken to bring back the remaining convicts as well as to accelerate the trial of the killers of four national leaders,” she said.
The prime minister said when the Awami League government has initiated trial of the war criminals and launched drive against the corrupt people, the rejected forces are out to subvert the march forward of development and democracy through hatching conspiracy and creating chaos.
“I urge the countrymen to remain alert about the troublemakers,” she said.
She said the present government has been working hard to build Digital Bangladesh to materialise the charter of change.
“We are marching forward to establish a modern Bangladesh free from hunger and poverty by 2021, which is the golden jubilee of Independence,” she said.
Terming the 15th August as a grief-stricken day for the Bangalee nation, Hasina said on this day in 1975, the greatest Bangalee of all time, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with his 18 family members, was assassinated in one of the most barbaric carnages in the human history.
She said Bangabandhu's wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Captain Sheikh Kamal, Lt Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel, daughter-in-laws Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, brother Sheikh Naser, farmers' leader Abdur Rab Serniabat, youth leader Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni and his wife Arzu Moni, Baby Serniabat, Sukanta Babu, Arif and Abdul Nayeem Khan Rintu were also killed on the fateful night. Bangabandhu's Military Secretary Col Jamil was also killed.
Some members of a family at Mohammadpur were also killed by canon-ball fired by the killers, she said.
“On the day of the National Mourning, I pray to the Almighty Allah for the salvation of the souls of the martyrs of the 15th August,” the prime minister said.
She said the people of this territory snatched the glowing sun of the Independence, breaking the shackles of subjugation of thousands of years, under the dynamic, courageous and charismatic leadership of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. “We got our own nation state and the pride of self- identity,” she said.
But, the PM said, Bangabandhu was killed when he had devoted himself to the arduous task of building a Sonar Bangla reconstructing the war-ravaged independent country and unifying the whole nation.
“The defeated forces of the War of Liberation made an abortive effort to ruin the tradition, culture and advancement of the Bangalee nation. Their target was to destroy the non-communal democratic fabric of Bangladesh,” she said.
She said the anti-liberation forces linked to the carnage initiated the politics of assassination, coup and conspiracy. Martial Law was promulgated suspending the constitution and overthrowing the government elected by the people and military ruler Zia established autocracy and destroyed democracy, she added.
Hasina said trial of the case for Bangabandhu's killing was blocked by promulgation of black laws and the killers were rewarded.
She said the people's right to franchise was established in 1996 through sacrifices of the lives of hundreds of martyrs and AL got the opportunity to run the country through people's verdict.
She said the AL government achieved tremendous success in building a welfare society, imbued with the spirit of War of Liberation, through signing the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Agreement, self- sufficiency in food, poverty alleviation, unprecedented success in mass education and empowerment of women. “People got back their lost confidence and trust,” she said.
Hasina said the nation was unfortunate that BNP- Jamaat alliance, with assuming the state power through rigged elections in 2001, undid the achievements and established autocracy. The wheel of development has been totally stopped, she said.
She said the 2001-06 period is a black chapter of the country's history to ruin the spirit of the War of Liberation, democracy and democratic institutions. The main objective of the then government was to annihilate the opposition political forces, especially Awami League, and establish one-party rule in the country, she added.
“As part of the design, a heinous attempt was made to kill me with a grenade attack on my rally on the 21st of August in 2004. By the grace of the Almighty Allah, I was saved but 24 AL leaders and workers, including Ivy Rahman, were killed in the attack,” Hasina said.
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