The baton passed to the youth

Freedom fighters on Friday passed on to the youths the incomplete job of establishing the values of the Liberation War at the ‘grand rally’ at the capital’s Shahbagh calling nothing short of execution of the ‘war criminals’.

Freedom fighter and cultural activist Kamal Lohani told the gathering of thousands, mostly school, college and university students: “Our youths have risen. Only we, the freedom-fighter generation, were in the street during 1971 (Liberation War). But today we’ve our youth friends with us.”

Another freedom fighter and cultural activist Syed Hassan Imam urged the young generation to execute the verdict of Gonoadalot (The People’s Court), organised by Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee (Committee to exterminate the killers and collaborators), which condemned several suspected war criminals to death in 1992.

“As the Convenor of Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee after Jahanara Imam, I task you with the execution of the verdict. You will carry out that responsibility. It’s our second Liberation War,” he told the rally.

An internet activist forum, Blogger and Online Activist Forum, rejected the verdict of the second International Crimes Tribunal sentencing Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla for war crimes terming it ‘too light’ hours after the Feb 5 judgment and called for a protest at Shahbagh.

Later, thousands of people joined the agitation. The sit-in protest continued for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, when the huge gathering was held.

Hassan Imam said: “We went back home after the 1971 War of Independence. We thought our job was done and we can be carefree. But we were not.”

“Through the movement under the leadership of Jahanar Imam, we handed down death sentence to Rajakars. As the pro-liberation party came to power in 1996, we thought they will execute the verdict. But we have been hurt to find it unexecuted.”

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique urged the new generation to lead the ‘struggles for liberation that are still going on’.

Referring to the March 7 address of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 in which he had said “our struggle this time is the struggle for freedom, our struggle this time is the struggle for independence”, Siddique said: “We attained independence in 1971. But our struggles for freedom are on-going. The young generation has to lead them.”

Writer and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) teacher Muhammad Zafar Iqbal termed the youths ‘the freedom fighter of this generation’.

He said: “The three million martyred freedom fighters are smiling from the heavens watching you. Shaheed Janani (Mother of Martyrs) Jahanara Imam is smiling at you from the sky. Their souls are in peace today because they are seeing that the young generation has shouldered the incomplete task that they left off.”

“The martyrs are saying nobody can subdue this Bangladesh,” he added.

Zafar Iqbal apologised to the youths saying his misperception about them was gone.

“I’ve written that the young generation cannot do anything but liking Facebook status. But I have been proven wrong. I apologise to you. Please pardon me.”

Sector Commanders’ Forum Vice President KM Shafiullah urged the youths to continue with the agitation until the demand for death penalty for ‘war criminals’ were met.

Birshreshthha Shaheed Motiur Rahman’s wife Milly Rahman said: “Our young generation has risen. No one can subdue us anymore.”