Post Breakfast
Reinstating National Mourning Day is just the first step
LIKE every other patriotic Bangladeshi, I have welcomed the decision of the caretaker government to restore the sanctity of August 15 as the National Mourning Day. By doing so, they have reaffirmed the belief of people of this country that Bangabandhu was not only the Father of this Nation but also that what happened on the tragic night of August 15, 1975 was a crime whose final adjudication needs to be completed. We are referring here to a man who unwaveringly followed his dream of a separate homeland for the Bangladeshis. With courage and determination, he welcomed incarceration and despite that stuck to his task and his conviction. He did not agree to compromises and half-way solutions. In that context, he became synonymous with an idea and became the symbol of freedom and independence.
Bangalees were lucky to have Bangabandhu in their midst. Unfortunately, instead of profiting from his resolute leadership, they paid him back with murder. Misunderstood by certain sections of the armed forces and a group of disgruntled politicians, he was assassinated along with many members of his immediate family. I was abroad when it happened, and could only respond to this crime through spontaneous words of poetry. (I wrote a poem entitled "Fifteenth of August" -- given below -- two days after the incident).
"Seeking the easy companionship of hypocrisy and hate,
in one hour, that night,
when justice slept and so did the saints,
butchers roamed the streets of Dhaka.
They swept aside innocence,
their eyes showing as much clarity as glass.
Their assault was brief,
their savagery laying waste to trust.
They faced no obstacle in their mind
to the fact that they killed their own kind.
The voice of liberty was snuffed out by the very men
trained to save, rather than maim."
Murder was bad enough, but what followed was even worse. On September 26, 1975 through an Extraordinary Bangladesh Gazette Notification, the nation was informed by the usurper President Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed and his compliant secretary of the Ministry of Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Justice that under The Indemnity Ordinance, 1975 (Ordinance No XIX) restrictions had been put in place with regard to "taking any legal or other proceedings in respect of certain acts or things done in connection with, or in preparation or execution of any plan for, or steps necessitating, the historical change and the proclamation of Martial Law on the morning of August 15th, 1975." What followed was natural. When murderers know there is no accountability for their actions, they do not hesitate to commit another crime. That is exactly what happened on November 3, 1975. Four prominent leaders of the Awami League, formerly ministers, including the acting president and the prime minister during our War of Liberation, were brutally killed inside the Dhaka Central Jail. A three-member Judicial Commission, as expected, was immediately constituted to investigate the matter, but that was the end of that story. Nothing happened. It took 21 years before the crime could be addressed. The Awami League government sworn into office in 1996, took two important steps -- the overturning of the iniquitous indemnity provision and the initiation of a normal judicial process (unlike the creation of a Special Tribunal which hastened the adjudication after President Zia's murder) to try those guilty of the crimes committed on August 15 1975. In this context, quite justifiably, the government also declared that day as the National Mourning Day and a public holiday. This was done not because Bangabandhu was the father of the then prime minister but because he was the founding father of the country. Then came the BNP government, and we saw once again their obdurate hatred for Bangabandhu. Basic civility was cast out of the window. On July 28, 2002, the alliance government cancelled the National Mourning Day, and also it being a public holiday. While scrapping the status of August 15, the BNP led government argued that, previously, the day had neither been fixed nor observed as such. From this point of view, it was termed as an unacceptable innovation. This was politics of hatred at its best. Instead, more emphasis was given to the day when the founder of BNP was killed by another group of misguided, ambitious armed forces officers in 1981. The judicial process pertaining to the alleged killers of Bangabandhu was also more or less suspended through machinations between the politicised judiciary and the government in power. Fortunately for the people, due process of law and the principle of natural justice were upheld on July 27, 2008, when the High Court declared illegal the cancellation of this significant Mourning Day. The government decided to abide by the High Court decision. On this day national flag again flew at half-mast in all Bangladesh Missions abroad. This affirms the establishment of the rule of law and facilitates the showing of due respect to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This persuades me to state that reinstating this day as National Mourning Day is just the first step. It is true that this latest decision will help the people of Bangladesh to reiterate their love for the late leader. However, like many others, I want to see a full conclusion of this process. This must include a swift completion of the trial of those alleged to be the killers. In this regard, steps also need to be taken to identify where those charged with the crime are presently residing (if they have not been apprehended as yet) and to bring them to justice. This will require political will, and that needs to be evident in the future course of action. Everyone must have their day in court and if found innocent, should be allowed to live as free citizens. Conversely, they should, if found guilty, be allowed full process of appeal. The judicial process must be completed -- the sooner the better. Without this, our homage to the great leader will sound hollow. We, as a nation, must move forward. The final resolution will also underline that crime does not pay and indemnity is not available for anyone participating in a violent conspiracy that leads to mayhem and muder.
in one hour, that night,
when justice slept and so did the saints,
butchers roamed the streets of Dhaka.
They swept aside innocence,
their eyes showing as much clarity as glass.
Their assault was brief,
their savagery laying waste to trust.
They faced no obstacle in their mind
to the fact that they killed their own kind.
The voice of liberty was snuffed out by the very men
trained to save, rather than maim."
Murder was bad enough, but what followed was even worse. On September 26, 1975 through an Extraordinary Bangladesh Gazette Notification, the nation was informed by the usurper President Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed and his compliant secretary of the Ministry of Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Justice that under The Indemnity Ordinance, 1975 (Ordinance No XIX) restrictions had been put in place with regard to "taking any legal or other proceedings in respect of certain acts or things done in connection with, or in preparation or execution of any plan for, or steps necessitating, the historical change and the proclamation of Martial Law on the morning of August 15th, 1975." What followed was natural. When murderers know there is no accountability for their actions, they do not hesitate to commit another crime. That is exactly what happened on November 3, 1975. Four prominent leaders of the Awami League, formerly ministers, including the acting president and the prime minister during our War of Liberation, were brutally killed inside the Dhaka Central Jail. A three-member Judicial Commission, as expected, was immediately constituted to investigate the matter, but that was the end of that story. Nothing happened. It took 21 years before the crime could be addressed. The Awami League government sworn into office in 1996, took two important steps -- the overturning of the iniquitous indemnity provision and the initiation of a normal judicial process (unlike the creation of a Special Tribunal which hastened the adjudication after President Zia's murder) to try those guilty of the crimes committed on August 15 1975. In this context, quite justifiably, the government also declared that day as the National Mourning Day and a public holiday. This was done not because Bangabandhu was the father of the then prime minister but because he was the founding father of the country. Then came the BNP government, and we saw once again their obdurate hatred for Bangabandhu. Basic civility was cast out of the window. On July 28, 2002, the alliance government cancelled the National Mourning Day, and also it being a public holiday. While scrapping the status of August 15, the BNP led government argued that, previously, the day had neither been fixed nor observed as such. From this point of view, it was termed as an unacceptable innovation. This was politics of hatred at its best. Instead, more emphasis was given to the day when the founder of BNP was killed by another group of misguided, ambitious armed forces officers in 1981. The judicial process pertaining to the alleged killers of Bangabandhu was also more or less suspended through machinations between the politicised judiciary and the government in power. Fortunately for the people, due process of law and the principle of natural justice were upheld on July 27, 2008, when the High Court declared illegal the cancellation of this significant Mourning Day. The government decided to abide by the High Court decision. On this day national flag again flew at half-mast in all Bangladesh Missions abroad. This affirms the establishment of the rule of law and facilitates the showing of due respect to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This persuades me to state that reinstating this day as National Mourning Day is just the first step. It is true that this latest decision will help the people of Bangladesh to reiterate their love for the late leader. However, like many others, I want to see a full conclusion of this process. This must include a swift completion of the trial of those alleged to be the killers. In this regard, steps also need to be taken to identify where those charged with the crime are presently residing (if they have not been apprehended as yet) and to bring them to justice. This will require political will, and that needs to be evident in the future course of action. Everyone must have their day in court and if found innocent, should be allowed to live as free citizens. Conversely, they should, if found guilty, be allowed full process of appeal. The judicial process must be completed -- the sooner the better. Without this, our homage to the great leader will sound hollow. We, as a nation, must move forward. The final resolution will also underline that crime does not pay and indemnity is not available for anyone participating in a violent conspiracy that leads to mayhem and muder.
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