‘War crimes trial must go on’

“The defeated groups of 1971 are still conspiring against the nation. But the good news is that the country is walking the path of justice by continuing the trials of the crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War,” freedom fighter Md Lutfar Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune. The freedom fighter was paying homage to the war martyrs at National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar when the Dhaka Tribune spoke with him. He said he was very young when he joined the war; he joined the Kaderia Bahini as a helping hand for the freedom fighters and was injured in a bomb attack on a Pakistani troop by the freedom fighters. “The aim of our Liberation War was to free the country of discrimination, hunger and poverty and ensure equality for all in society regardless of their religious or other identity. But today the country is facing crises like religious extremism and militancy aided by foreign countries,” he said. But he still has high hopes that the country will pull through the crises, especially the young generation. “Youths are the future of the nation. We have to rely on them. If they learn our country’s true history, they would be more capable of leading the nation following the spirit of the Liberation War,” Lutfar said. The Dhaka Tribune also spoke to Md ABM Emdad Hossain, organising secretary of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad, a freedom fighter who was trained in India before he joined the fight for the country. “We joined the fight on Bangabandhu’s call with a vision to build a secular, peaceful and prosperous country. But the fundamentalists have grown roots in our country over the past 45 years,” he said. “We saw how the razakars took high positions in the government. They rode in cars that carried our national flag. Seeing that hurt me the most as a freedom fighter,” Emdad said. “In Bangabandhu’s Bangladesh, whenever we experience militancy, terrorist attacks and communal attacks, it makes me very unhappy. We want an immediate end of such criminal acts in order to build Bangabandhu’s Shonar Bangla.” Both the freedom fighters demanded that the government carry on war crimes trial until every single razakar – local collaborators of Pakistani occupation forces – is brought to book.