National Mourning Day was observed yesterday by paying rich tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the 39th anniversary of his death.
AL leaders renewed their vows to execute in full the verdict in his murder trial by having his absconding killers extradited to Bangladesh.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to Bangabandhu by placing floral wreaths at Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi Road No 32 early in the morning.
Later Sheikh Hasina, one of Bangabandhu’s two surviving daughters, placed wreaths at her father’s grave in Tungipara, Gopalganj.
On this day in 1975, Bangabandhu and most of his family members were gunned down in his house in Dhanmondi by a group of disgruntled army officers.
After the placing of the wreaths, a smartly turned out contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces gave a state salute and the bugle played the last post, reports BSS.
Cabinet members, ruling party central leaders and the three armed service chiefs were present at the programmes.
Hasina also placed wreaths at Banani cemetery at the graves of others killed that night.
The Awami League and different socio-cultural organisations chalked up elaborate programmes in the capital and other parts of the country to mark the day. In the morning they paid tribute to the memory of Bangabandhu at Dhanmondi and Tungipara.
Later in the afternoon, the premier participated in a doa and milad mehfil arranged by the Mohila Awami League at Bangabandhu Bhaban. Milad mehfils and special munajat were held at religious institutions after Asr prayers.
After laying a wreath at Bangabandhu Mazar in Tungipara, LGRD minister and party general secretary, Syed Ashraful Islam, said he hoped the absconding killers would be brought back to Bangladesh.
AL presidium member Sheikh Fazul Karim Selim called on the cooperation of the UN secretary general to have the killers extradited.
While responding to reporters, Ashraf said the government had been relentless in its extradition effort.
“We are trying to bring the killers of Bangabandhu back to face the judgement of the court. We will get them in the end,” Ashraf said.
Ashraf claimed the United States and Canada had double standards on the issue of extraditing Bangabandhu’s killers.
“They will often cite humanitarian concerns as an excuse. But as you know, in the United States, capital punishment is carried out in many states,” he said.
Referring to a recent execution in Arizona, the leader said: “You may have heard that some time ago they executed a death row convict for two and a half hours. But they keep talking about our need for humanity, democracy and the rule of law.”
“They shelter Bangabandhu’s self-proclaimed killers,” he said.
Hinting at the United States and Canada, party leader Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim said they were vocal on human rights issues but they sheltered killers.
“If they believed in democracy and human rights in the real sense, they would hand over the killers,” he said.