Reports circulating in some media outlets claiming that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, Muhammad Mansur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzaman have had their recognition as freedom fighters revoked are misleading and incorrect, according to two advisers in the interim government.
Liberation War Affairs Adviser Faruk E Azam clarified in a phone interview with a media outlet on Wednesday that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders remained recognized as freedom fighters.
All those who had been part of the Mujibnagar Government were considered freedom fighters, said Faruk.
The clarification comes amid confusion following an ordinance that redefined the term freedom fighter and introduced a separate category for Liberation War associates.
He further explained that while officials and employees who worked under the Mujibnagar Government would now be categorized as “associates of the Liberation War,” this did not apply to its core political leadership, whose freedom fighter status remained unchanged.
"Individuals associated with the Mujibnagar Government will retain recognition as freedom fighters, as the government led the Liberation War in 1971. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders will remain recognized as freedom fighters for their role in leading the Mujibnagar Government," he said during a special briefing.
The adviser said diplomats as well as those involved with the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra were recognized as associates of the Liberation War. However, being categorized as an associate did not mean their honour had been diminished, he added.
Faruk alleged that despite the ordinance clearly outlining the new definition of a freedom fighter, unnecessary controversy was being stirred around the issue.
“If we had not fought the Liberation War as a nation, we would not have achieved independence,” said Faruk, a recipient of the Bir Protik gallantry award. “There has been no chapter in our national history more glorious than the Liberation War.”
Meanwhile, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki said on Facebook that the claim that the freedom fighter certificates of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmad and other Liberation War leaders had been revoked was fake news.
The new ordinance clearly recognized all members of the Mujibnagar Government as freedom fighters, he added.