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Download PDF Awami League (AL) yesterday commemorated the second anniversary of the gruesome August 21 grenade attack, taking a fresh vow to bring the perpetrators to book.
The opposition leaders and workers stood in a two-minute silence, lit candles, placed wreaths and brought out mourning processions to match the solemnity of the occasion.
As the clock struck 5.22pm, exact time of the first blast, tens of thousands of people stood up and observed silence till 5:24pm in memory of the leaders and activists perished in the blasts that rattled the entire nation.
Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack on August 21, 2004 but 24 leaders and workers including Ivy Rahman were killed and 400 more injured.
At least a dozen grenades were hurled on the rally apparently in an attempt to kill AL President Sheikh Hasina.
The yesterday’s programme began with placing wreaths at a plaque in front of the AL central office at 11:24am. Hasina was the first one to lay wreaths on the memorial to the victims of the bloodshed.
She was followed by among others Zillur Rahman, Sajeda Chowdhury, Abdur Razzak, Abdul Jalil, Suranjit Sengupta, Tofail Ahmed, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Kazi Zafarullah, Obaidul Quader, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Huq Inu, Pankaj Bhattacharya, Nurul Islam, Dilip Barua, CPB leaders Monjurul Ahsan Khan and Mujahidul Islam Selim.
Later the AL chief addressed a mourning rally there and expressed her sympathy for the bereaved and the injured.
Tight security measures were taken on and around Bangabandhu Avenue. The road remained off limits to vehicles as the opposition activists streamed into the area in the afternoon.
People from different places across the city soon flooded the area. Many of the marchers carried banners reading ‘Khaleda-Nizami are behind all the blasts’ and ‘We want independent international probe into the August 21 blasts’.
Many of those injured in the August 21 blasts took part in the mourning procession and rally. As the Bangabandhu Avenue was filled to capacity, the opposition leaders and workers raised their hands and swore an oath to ‘oust the ruling coalition, bring in a pro-people government, and try the persons responsible for blast incidents including the August 21 grenade attacks’.
Addressing the mourning rally, the opposition leaders accused the BNP-Jamaat government of having a hand in the ghastly attack. They criticised the government for not conducting a fair investigation into the incident and bringing the culprits to trial.
Besides, the opposition leaders resolved to bring the perpetrators to justice after forming a pro-people government through a free and fair election.
AL Presidium Member Amir Hossain Amu reiterated the call for an international probe. He said the attack was “designed to eliminate the AL leadership.”
AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil MP alleged that the BNP-Jamaat alliance had orchestrated the grenade blasts in a bid to kill Sheikh Hasina and turn the country into a communal and pro-Pakistani state.
He further alleged that the investigation was not conducted properly as the government itself had been involved in the carnage.
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said, “The politics of killing began with the assassination of Bangabandhu and the August 21 grenade attack was only a continuity of the August 15 tragedy.”
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Huq Inu said the culprits will never be able to get away with the mass killings and they will face trial once a non-communal Bangladesh is established.
Senior opposition leaders including Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Motia Chowdhury, Mohammad Nasim, Dilip Barua, Nurul Islam, Obaidul Quader, among others, spoke at the rally.
After the rally, Jubo League, youth front of the AL, organised a doa mahfil and lit candles in memory of the departed.
Elsewhere in the country, the opposition workers and supporters brought out processions to mourn those who died in the grenade attacks, and special prayers were offered.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh also observed the day.
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