Martyred Intellectuals Day
Nation vows to resist plot against war crimes trial
(Clockwise from top left) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina places a wreath at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Monument in the capital yesterday marking Martyred Intellectuals Day. Leader of the opposition and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia places a wreath there. People from all strata of life arrive at the monument to pay tribute to the nation's bright sons who were assassinated just before the end of the 1971 Liberation War.Star
With a vow to resisting any “conspiracy†against the ongoing war crimes trial, the nation yesterday observed Martyred Intellectuals Day commemorating its bright sons, who were assassinated at the fag end of the 1971 Liberation War. People from all strata of life called for an expeditious trial of the suspected war criminals who committed crimes against humanity during the nine-month long war. Families of the victims and different socio-political and cultural organisations made the call while paying their tributes to the martyred by placing wreaths at the killing grounds of the capital's Rayer Bazar and Mirpur as well as other parts of the country. Just two days ahead of the victory on December 16, the Pakistani army in cooperation with their local collaborators--Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakars--killed the intellectuals. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, and the cabinet members paid their tributes at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Monument early yesterday. After placing wreaths at the monument of Rayer Bazar mass grave, LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said a conspiracy is underway to foil the war crimes trial. “But, we wouldn't let it happen. No matter how hard Khaleda Zia tries to save war criminals, she wouldn't be able to do that,†he said. Nine Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP leaders are now facing war crimes trial. Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) President Mujahidul Islam Selim said Jamaat is spending crores of taka at home and abroad to foil the trial and that it has no legal rights to be a political party. “Jamaat-e-Islami was an auxiliary force of Pakistani army in 1971. It became illegal on December 16, 1971 after the Pakistani army's surrender.†The CPB chief demanded speeding up of the war crimes trial. Journalist Shaheen Reza Noor, son of martyred journalist Serajuddin Hossain, said they have been waiting for the last 41 years to get justice. “But, when the verdict of war crimes trial is imminent, national and international conspiracies have been hatched to foil the trial.†Dhaka University Vice Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique also demanded expediting the trial and exemplary punishment for those involved in massacring the intellectuals. Projonmo '71, an organisation of the children of the 1971 martyred, formed a human chain at Rayer Bazar to demand resisting the conspiracy against the trial. As in previous year, Kendriya Khelaghar Asar set up a mock killing ground at Rayer Bazar to inform the new generation of the brutality of the Pakistani army and their local collaborators and to wage a social movement in favour of the war crimes trial. Awami League, BNP, Bangladesh Workers Party, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Dhaka Union of Journalists, Dhaka Reporters Unity, Zaker Party, and National People's Party, among other organisations, paid their tribute to the martyred intellectuals. A large number of intellectuals and professionals, including artists, writers, teachers, doctors, engineers, and lawyers, were killed by the Pakistani occupation forces and their collaborators on December 14 and 15 in 1971.
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