On September 5, we all celebrated the first month of Bangladesh's second independence. Hundreds of students and people from all walks of life made the ultimate sacrifice for one of the most glorious revolutions in the history of our nation.
Together they ended the 15-year dictatorship of the fascist Sheikh Hasina, who led a brutal genocide right up until her downfall. Sheikh Hasina fled the country, leaving behind a state engulfed in corruption and an economy in tatters. It is our responsibility to establish the Bangladesh we all want in its full glory.
Today, I remember those brave young souls, workers, day labourers, professionals who embraced death in confronting a heinous, murderous fascist force. I am also remembering all the journalists who were killed during the movement. Today, I am paying my deepest respects to all the martyrs in this revolution. I also salute the thousands of others who have been injured, crippled for life, and have lost their ability to use their eyes.
Last month, when I was entrusted to lead the interim government, I accepted the responsibility being inspired by the selfless sacrifices of Abu Sayed, Mugdha, and all the martyrs known and unknown, despite my own limitations.
I am committed to fulfilling the dream that our young revolutionaries have awakened in the minds of the country's people to build a new Bangladesh. Being inspired by the martyrs' sacrifice, we want to change the course of history and start a new era.
My dear youths, you took an oath to fulfill your dreams. Your dreams painted on the walls of cities and rural towns are still standing before us vividly.
During the revolution, quitting your studies, you spent sleepless nights with your friends and took to the streets during the day as you marched in resistance against the brutal regime. After the revolution, you guarded our nation’s many religious minorities and their places of worship and took the responsibility of managing traffic across the country.
I know your academic life has suffered a lot. So, now, it's time to get back to studying. Schools, colleges and universities have been opened. I urge you all to return to the classroom and campus. We need a well-educated and skilled generation so that we can fully harness the revolution you all have fought for.
It has only been a month since the interim government was given the responsibility of leading the charge. But our work towards realizing the reforms you have all fought for is already underway.
Our first task is to ensure justice and accountability for the killings we all witnessed in July and August. We have invited the UN Human Rights Office to conduct an independent and impartial UN-led inquiry into the genocide. They have already started their work.
I have also held talks with top international law experts in order to establish a tribunal of global standards in order to hold trials of those accused of committing crimes against humanity in July and August.
We want to bring back the killers and all the wealth which has been laundered by corrupt individuals, politicians, and bureaucrats during the tenure of the autocratic ruler. So, we have initiated talks with expert organizations.
One of our main responsibilities is to ensure treatment for the thousands of people left critically injured during the revolution. Many young students have lost their eyesight as Hasina’s enforcers targeted their eyes when firing rubber bullets at them. We will try our best to ensure that all of them can see again. We are working continuously to prepare a complete list of all the martyrs and the injured. The main list has already been prepared. Now, the list is being completed by collecting information of the bodies which were taken away. We are now nearing completion in establishing a foundation to facilitate the long-term, expensive treatments for the wounded while also looking after the martyrs’ families. We will never forget the martyrs whose sacrifice gave birth to a new Bangladesh.
We recently signed an international convention certificate to ensure protection for all from enforced disappearances. This means that we are now internationally bound to put an end to the culture of enforced disappearance which had been established by the autocrat. On another note, we have formed a commission to probe into every incident of enforced disappearance which had occurred in the last 15 years of fascism. Our hearts go out to the families who have spent years after years in the dark about their missing fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers.
We have put an end to Aynaghar. We will soon know the pain and suffering of all the brothers and sisters who have been made victims of enforced disappearances.
In my national address last month, I placed a report on the important reforms made by our government. We’re constantly holding meetings with political parties, editors, business leaders, civil society figures, and diplomats. They have supported our efforts for bringing reforms. We have become overwhelmed after getting huge supports from our foreign friends. Our brave and patriotic expatriates have also engaged in the efforts of rebuilding the nation.
On this day of pain and remembrance, I extend my wholehearted gratitude to the families of each and every martyr and wounded. I will invite the family members of every martyr to the capital, and I will meet them within a few days. I want to assure them that we will never betray the dreams of the martyrs.
We are marching forward. Now our biggest challenge is to recover from the wounds inflicted by years of misrule and autocracy. To do so, we must be united and coordinated.
We have all promised that we will never let the blood of the martyrs and the sacrifices of the brothers and sisters to go in vain. We will never allow the opportunity they have created for us to slip out of our hands. On this memorable occasion, we vow again to create the Bangladesh which they had always dreamed of.
Dr Muhammad Yunus is the chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh.
