Today, the world pays tribute to the victims and survivors of terrorism. We honour their courage, amplify their voices, and reaffirm the global community’s commitment to their dignity and rights.
Since 2017, the United Nations has observed August 21 as the “International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.”
Reading the UN secretary-general’s commemorative message reminds me of the 24 souls who lost their lives in the deadliest act of terrorism in my own country 22 years ago.
In Bangladesh’s history, August 21 is overwhelmingly defined by the 2004 grenade attack. It is considered the nation’s most devastating act of terrorism, occurring when military-grade hand grenades were detonated at an anti-terrorism rally organized by the Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka.
Now-deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, then the leader of the opposition, narrowly escaped death when party leaders formed a human shield around her. However, the barrage of blasts claimed 24 lives and, by some accounts, left more than 500 others injured, with injuries ranging from minor wounds to permanent disabilities.
With “Healing through Memory” serving as the theme for this year’s observance, I struggle to heal my own wounds as an ordinary member of society. Memory remains our only solace because nobody has been held legally accountable for this heinous offence.
Luckily, I was not on duty at Bangabandhu Avenue on that fateful day. However, during my years as a newspaper journalist, I was no stranger to witnessing terror -- much of which spiked around the turn of the century in the early 2000s. I vividly remember a close shave while covering a rally at the historic Paltan Maidan in early 2001.
A sudden bomb attack at a Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) rally caught everyone off guard. It was the afternoon of January 20. As the rally progressed, a loud explosion rang out, and I immediately saw at least three people collapse just feet from where I stood. Like everyone else, I ran for my life. Police and hospital reports later confirmed five deaths and more than three dozen injuries.
To this day, it brings some comfort that the state apparatus successfully investigated the CPB rally attack, hunting down the terror outfit and its operatives. Unfortunately, justice has completely eluded the victims of the much larger tragedy unleashed on August 21, 2004.
As the UN secretary-general aptly notes, this day reminds us that remembrance is a pathway to recovery and renewal. Yet, a critical question remains: how we remember matters.
In my view, true remembrance requires two things: Paying befitting homage to the 24 victims while consoling their families, and ensuring that the offenders are brought to justice. Tragically, we have failed on the second front.
The bare minimum we owe those 24 souls is a proper investigation, accurate identification of the criminals, and due punishment. After years of investigation, a special tribunal in 2018 sentenced 19 people to death and 19 others to life imprisonment.
However, following major political shifts in Bangladesh, the judicial trajectory changed drastically through multiple appeals. The initial convictions of top political figures and militants ultimately gave way to the complete exoneration of all the accused by the country’s highest court.
The High Court declared the original trial legally flawed, invalidating the charge sheets over procedural misconduct and a lack of credible evidence.
When the state challenged the decision, a seven-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on September 4, 2025, upholding the acquittals of all 38 accused.
Over the decades, the nation has watched investigations fall apart and witnessed staged dramas such as the infamous “Joj Mia” fabrication, which relied on false confessions extracted under duress.
Every year, political bodies observe this date as “Grenade Attack Day” to honour the dead. Yet, I wonder how they face the survivors and bereaved families when we have collectively failed as a nation to punish the perpetrators.
Ideally, a tragedy as massive as that of August 21 should have united a shocked nation. Instead, we remained fiercely loyal to our political divides, weaponizing competing narratives over who was responsible. Rather than standing united against terror, we allowed it to divide us.
This year marks the first time we are observing the International Day of Remembrance since the Supreme Court’s final acquittal late last year. It is up to jurists and legal experts to debate whether the state can still pursue fresh, impartial investigations or search for solid evidence. As ordinary citizens, however, we see only a national failure.
I echo the words of the UN secretary-general: “Today and every day, let us stand in solidarity with victims and survivors and build a future free from violence and fear.”
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
