Bhuiyan asks govt to prosecute war criminals

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Demanding trial of the war criminals, senior BNP leader Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday said that the government should take initiative to try the war criminals, as it would not be possible for any individual to file cases now.

“It was possible to try the killers of martyred intellectuals earlier as there were a lot of supporting documents, but all the previous governments failed to do it,” Bhuiyan, also the party standing committee member, observed.

He was speaking at a discussion meeting held at a community centre in the city’s Gulshan on the occasion of Victory Day.

This is the first time that such a demand was made by BNP, which was allied with Jamaat-e-Islami during Awami League rule in the movement against the then government and formed a coalition government with Jamaat after the 2001 general elections.

Jamaat is held responsible for its anti-liberation role in 1971.

Bhuiyan urged the Election Commission to hold the general elections quickly by completing the preparation of voter roll and carrying out necessary reforms.

The BNP leader underscored the need for self-criticism among the political leaders so that the mistakes and wrongdoings committed in the past could be corrected. “If necessary we (the politicians) should seek apology to the people,” he said.

“We could not continue democracy and we the politicians are to blame as we could not protect the democratic institutions like the Election Commission,” Bhuiyan observed.

Stressing the need for establishing the spirit of Liberation War, Maj (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, the standing committee appointed acting secretary general of the party, observed that the history of Liberation War has been distorted and they tolerated it silently.

He urged the partymen to ensure unity and democracy in the party.

“We will re-establish the ideology of Ziaur Rahman in the party,” Hafiz, who presided over the discussion meeting, said adding that BNP should be purged of corrupt elements to bring democracy in the party.

He said that the reform proposal by Mannan Bhuiyan is the reflection of the party councilors’ opinions. The proposal does not intend to remove BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from the party, Hafiz added.

Maj (retd) Gen ZA Khan, an adviser to the party chairperson, said that they would not accept anybody’s absolute power in the party.

Among others, party standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, Abdul Hakim, Kazi Siraj, Tasmeen Rana, Nazir Hossain, Tarique Shamsur Rahman took part in the discussion conducted by Monir Hossain, former president of Chhatra Dal, Dhaka University unit.

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