Justice Commission on 1975 and post-1975 junctures demanded

Those who rose to power following the 1975 assassination of Bangabandhu and misguided the nation and prolonged their tenure by murdering freedom fighters and armed forces personnel must be unmasked, said speakers at a webinar on Saturday.

They also demanded that a justice commission be formed in this regard, reports state-run news agency BSS.

The speakers also urged conducting research on the murder of four national leaders inside the jail on 3 November in 1975 and exposing the true masterminds, said a press release of Centre for Research and Information (CRI) in the capital.

The recommendations came at a webinar on Friday night, titled ‘Bloody November: Some Historical Realities’, attended by Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, president of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), Syed Badrul Ahsan, writer and researcher, retired Major General Syed Shafayet Islam, son of Syed Nazrul Islam, and Journalist Zayadul Ahsan Pintu.

The webinar was conducted by journalist and former student leader Subhash Singha Roy.

“The time between 15 August and 7 November is a bloody chapter in the history of Bangladesh. The conspirators of that episode are still alive. They masterminded everything. No matter how old those incidents were, they must be unmasked,” said Syed Shafayet Islam.

“Have we taken lessons from the incident of that day in the context of today’s reality? Have we truly realised that incident? Have we been able to carry that lesson forward to this generation? That’s what we should ponder on,” he added.

Having joined the armed forces in 1975, Syed Shafayet Islam eventually became a major general in the nineties and left no stone unturned to find the documents that might shed some light on the 1975 assassination. But, by the time, all documents had been made traceless.

“Four national leaders were killed as a sequel to the assassination of Bangabandhu. The assassins figured it out well that the four leaders who had struggled alongside Bangabandhu for the country would navigate Bangladesh towards its goal if they remained alive,” said Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin.

He also called upon historians to carry the torch of the history of 1975 to the new generation.

“The truth must rise from ashes. The true history must be unearthed. Amu bhai, Selim bhai, Tofail bhai are writing. If we can add our observations to that, the young generation will get sufficient content,” he added.

“What role Taheruddin Thakur and Mahbub Alam Chashi played must be analysed in addition to Khondaker Mostaq and Ziaur Rahman. Many of the masterminds of 15 August died in 3 and 7 November. They must undergo posthumous trials. The armed forces personnel who were involved in that murder can never be spared. We must conducted research on them as well. They must be tried,” said Syed Badrul Ahsan.

In the beginning of the discussion, Zayadul Ahsan Pintu said, “Were the assassination of Bangabandhu and that of four national leaders committed by merely 12 armed forces officers? Who were behind the scene?

“A justice commission should be formed following interviewing the witnesses to the people becoming victims of the mass executions during the tenure of Ziaur Rahman,” he added.