Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the countrymen to turn the grief of the loss of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman into strength to establish the ‘Golden Bangladesh’ as dreamt by him, reports BSS. “Let us come and turn the grief of the loss of Bangabandhu into strength. Let us engage ourselves holding Bangabandhu’s philosophy in building a non-communal, hunger-illiteracy-free, and happy-prosperous Bangladesh and establish the Golden Bangladesh as dreamt by the Father of the Nation. That is our solemn pledge on the National Mourning Day,” she said in a message on the eve of the National Mourning Day.
The killers were able to assassinate Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but they could not erase his dreams and ideals, she added.
“The 15th August is the National Mourning Day. On this day in 1975, the greatest Bangalee of all time,
Bangabandhu, along with his family members, was assassinated in one of the most barbaric carnages in the human history,” the prime minister said.
Eighteen members of the family along with Bangabandhu’s wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, three sons-Captain Sheikh Kamal, Lieutenant Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel, two daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, brother Sheikh Naser, peasant leader Abdur Rab Serniabat, youth leader Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni and his wife Arzu Moni, Baby Serniabat, Sukanta Babu, Arif and Abdul Nayeem Khan Rintu were killed on that fateful night, the premier added.
Bangabandhu’s Military Secretary Colonel Jamil was also killed, Sheikh Hasina said, adding that some members of a family at Mohammadpur in the capital were also killed by artillery shells fired by the killers on that fateful night.
“On this day, I pray to the Almighty Allah for the salvation of the souls of all martyrs of the 15th August, including the Father of the Nation,” she said.
In her message, the primer said, “Under the dynamic, courageous and charismatic leadership of the Father of the Nation, the people of this territory brought the reddish sun of the independence breaking the shackles of subjugation of thousands of years. The Bangalees have gotten their own nation-state, flag and national anthem”.
But Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed at a time when he had undertaken an arduous task of building a Golden Bangladesh reconstructing the war-ravaged country and unifying the whole nation, she said.
The defeated forces of the Liberation War made abortive attempts to ruin the tradition, culture and advancement of the Bangalee nation. Their aim was to destroy the secular democratic fabric of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said, adding that the anti-liberation forces linked to the carnage initiated the politics of assassination, coup and conspiracy.
The trial of Bangabandhu’s brutal assassination was blocked through promulgation of indemnity ordinance, she said.
“Ziaur Rahman usurped the state power and promulgated Martial Law suspending the constitution and overthrowing the people’s elected government. The killers of the Father of the Nation were rewarded and given jobs at the Bangladesh missions abroad. The anti-liberation elements were given nationality,” the primer added.
She said they were made partners of the state power and rehabilitated politically and socially. The subsequent governments of BNP-Jamaat alliance had followed the same path.
“Winning the general elections on 12th June 1996, Bangladesh Awami League assumed state power after long 21 years. A new horizon of development was initiated during the five-year tenure overcoming the obstacles of the past,” she added. The country once deficient in food production became self-sufficient. This period was a ‘golden era’ for the countrymen, the premier said, adding, “We had initiated the trial of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib killing case. But after taking over state power, BNP-Jamaat government stopped the trial”.
The people of the country made Awami League victorious again in the 29th December general elections in 2008, she said, adding, “Overcoming the stagnancy left by the previous BNP-Jamaat government and global economic recession, we have put the country on firm economic footing”.
“During the last nine and a half years, we have achieved desired advancement in every sector,” Sheikh Hasina said, adding that Bangladesh in now a ‘role model’ of socio-economic development.
“Bangladesh has recently being graduated to developing country. We have launched Bangabandhu satellite-1. We shall turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country before 2021 and a developed one by 2041, InshaAllah,” the prime minister said.
She said, “We have executed the verdict of the Bangabandhu killing case. The trial of the killers of four national leaders has been completed. The verdicts of the cases against war criminals are being executed. Our government is following ‘zero tolerance’ policy to uproot militancy-terrorism”.
The path of grabbing state power unconstitutionally has been stopped by passing the 15th amendment to the constitution by the parliament, she said, adding, “We have to remain ready to resist any ill-attempt by the anti-liberation-communal group and anti-development-democracy forces”.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said she never tried to retreat from doing welfare of the country and its people even after repeated death threats in her life.
“I’ve to move with the pain of losing close relatives. The path is not easy. I know I may have to face death again ...I never tried to step back,” she said.
The Prime Minister was inaugurating 23 bridges on Joydebpur-Chandra-Tangail-Elenga road (N-4) under South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) and Fatehpur railway overpass in Feni on Dhaka-Chattagram highway through videoconferencing from her official residence Ganobhaban.
She said although Bangladesh earned the independence under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the defeated forces never sat idle. “When they saw that Bangladesh was advancing economically, they made the strike on August 15, 1975 with their all strength.”
Sheikh Hasina, the eldest child of the Father of the Nation, said they did not kill only the country’s President, but also ruined a family completely. “Ten-year-old Russel had not also been spared. Their motive was to make sure no one of that bloodline comes (leadership) and that country’s people do not turn around again surrounding him,” she said.
The Prime Minister mentioned that she herself and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana escaped the massacre as they were outside the country during the brutal killing.
The Prime Minister said after passing six years in exile, she returned home in 1981 and since then, she has a single aim which is to uplift the nation for which her father had sacrificed his life. “I’ve to change people’s fate anyhow so that they can live in peace, happiness and economic solvency.”
She also said people’s fate saw no change after August 15, 1975. “Only the fate of some handful people who were in power illegally was changed. General people were oppressed and deprived of all facilities.”
Sheikh Hasina said the government is taking necessary steps for the development of the country and its people. “And I’m getting cooperation from all.”
Talking about the bridges and the overpass which were opened today, she said these will enhance the regional connectivity of the country which will ultimately help Bangladesh open a new door for the socioeconomic development. She also mentioned that the highways the government is constructing have two types of carriageways — one for local people and the other for speedy vehicles. “We’re constructing the highways in this way to reduce road accidents and to ensure that local people continue their communication without any problem,” she said.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed also spoke at the programme.