Desk Report
Published: 16 Sep 2021, 08:19 pm
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina || Photo: Collected
Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina today urged lawmakers to find out how many people were killed in
each jail across the country during Ziaur Rahman's regime.
“You (MPs)
should move forward to find out how many people were killed in jails,
especially in Dhaka, Bogura, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Cumilla. Hundreds of people
were hanged to death in each coup . . .,” she said.
The Leader of
the House passed this call during her valedictory speech at the 14th session of
the 11th Jatiya Sangsad.
Speaker Dr
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury chaired the sitting.
“Army officers,
army soldiers, air force’s 562 officers as well as soldiers and a number of
people were killed . . . still there may be many people who become mentally
imbalanced due to executing the order of hanging people each night,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina
said Zia and his allies had accommodated killers, terrorists, militants, war
criminals, rapists . . . but the irony is that the issues of human rights,
knowledge and rule of law have to be heard from them.
Mentioning that
Zia introduced so-called multi-party democracy through “yes” or “no” vote in
the election of 1977, she said “Actually, Zia destroyed elections and
demolished people’s trust on the vote.” She also referred to the election of
1979 in Zia’s regime where he showed how to manipulate elections and vote.
She continued
that in addition, he (Zia) initiated the culture of not repaying a loans taken
from a bank. “He (Zia) made people corrupt giving handing money and arms over
to the meritorious students and established the politics of arms in educational
institutions in the country,” she added.
Reiterating
that Zia was involved in the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, the Prime Minister said there was no doubt that
he was involved in the killing. "I wanted to accuse him. At that time, the
Home Secretary was Rezaul Hayat and told me that dead people cannot be accused.
But, I think the name should have been (mentioned as accused).”
Those, who
helped occupying forces to commit arson attacks, murder and rape in this
country, had been made ministers and advisors during the regime of Zia, the
premier said, adding “He also rewarded the killers of Fathers of the Nation
providing jobs in various embassies.”
She continued
saying that his wife Begum Khaleda Zia also made Colonel Rashid and Huda
Members of Parliament and this is their character.
Referring to
the issue of Zia’s grave which is situated inside the parliament area, she said
Farooq-Rashid himself in an interview with BBC confessed that Zia was involved
in the conspiracy, which was also in the books of Anthony Mascarenhas and in
the book of Lawrence Lifschult, hence the matter of Zia’s involvement in the
killing cannot be denied.
Premier said
Zia's body was not found after the news of his death and that was why
namaj-e-janaza was held in absentia, but a few days later a box was brought.
Pointing out to
General Ershad, she said it was done on someone's advice and consequently, a
box was arranged and displayed.
“Then the
question came again and again in this Parliament that if the body was found,
then why there was no picture of the body?” she said.
The Premier
said Mir Shawkat (Mir Shawkat Ali Bir Uttam) identified the body. She told the
Parliament that one day she asked him (Shawkat) to speak honestly about the
body because she knew him as a freedom fighter, but he replied “where to find
the body".
Sheikh Hasina said she even repeatedly asked
General Ershad where did he find the body in the box, but he also replied that
"Sister, where can I get the body?"
“So we’ve
repeatedly asked what is being raised today and you (BNP leaders and activists)
can see what the then BNP leaders had done,” she said.
In response to
a lawmaker from BNP, the leader of the house said history comes back and after
1975 the name of Father of the Nation was tried to be erased and even the
speech of Historic March 7 had not been allowed to be played in this country.
She said on
March 25, when roadblocks were set up across the country, barricades were also
set up in Chattogram and on duty, Ziaur Rahman on behalf of the Pakistani army
fired on the people who set up the barricade. He then went to unload weapons
from the Swat ship, but he was detained by the public, she mentioned.
Sheikh Hasina
said on the evening of the 27th March Ziaur Rahman had only read out the
declaration of independence (on behalf of Bangabandhu) when local Awami League
leader Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury directed to bring an army officer for it.
When the
question was raised in the Parliament over Independence Day was on March 26,
Zia had declared 27th March as Independence Day. (BSS)