Certificates for Freedom fighters are going to get a new look with the introduction of parchment paper, as an initiative by the Liberation War Affairs Ministry to avoid tampering of the certificates, confirmed Ministry sources.
The ministry is going to prepare a database to preserve all the documents of Freedom fighters.
In a document from the ministry, it said they took the initiative to “secure Muktijuddha Certificate and supply related hardware, software and preparation of database.”
Japan-Bangladesh Security Printing and papers Ltd is implementing the project. Sources said under the agreement, the company will help the Liberation War Ministry for one year to update documents and after a year the company will provide other services.
The ministry will prepare the database of 1,80,00 and to implement the project it will spend total Tk1.83m. Freedom fighters will get the new certificate from July.
All Freedom fighters, who have received their certificates, will get the new ones, and all those who have certificates will receive replacement sin phases.
Till February this year, the ministry issued over 2m certificates to Freedom fighters.
The State Minister for Liberation War Affairs, Captain (Retd) AB Tajul Islam, confirmed the ministry is changing the certificate to avoid any tampering.
He lauded the new initiative taken by the ministry and hoped the new certificate will also help the Freedom fighters to keep their certificates safe. He said the parchment paper certificate would be preserved for future generations easily. The database will also preserve all the documents related to the Freedom fighters, said the state minister.
Ministry sources confirmed to prepare the database and supply new certificate to freedom fighters, each one would cost the ministry Tk70.
The Japan-Bangladesh Security Printing and papers Ltd would prepare the database of 1.77m freedom fighters by phases.
Ministry sources however said to prepare the complete database the company is facing some obstacles that have been identified. The issues are regarding forms that do not mention their professions, date of birth, religion, wartime address, and parents ‘names. When they received their certificates many didn’t provide their national ID details.
The company in a letter to the ministry said, in some cases Freedom fighters’ handwritings are not always legible and the low quality photos could not be used.
