Nothing will stop Bangladesh from trying 1971 war crimes, says Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reaffirmed that her government will continue to try those who are believed to have committed crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

“We have tried the killers of the Bangabandhu and executed the verdict. We are doing the same in the case of war criminals and it will continue,” she told a discussion on Wednesday.

Hasina said she is ‘prepared to make any sort of sacrifice’ for the people of Bangladesh.

Recalling the 1975 assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said, “I know how it feels to lose your dear ones.”

A group of rogue military officers killed Bangladesh’s founding father along with his wife, three sons, two daughters-in-law and many others on Aug 15, 1975.

His daughters Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived the bloodbath because they were in Europe at the time.

“I have brought justice for my slain family members and likewise, who have lost their dear ones also deserve the same.

“I will continue to bring justice for them as well and nothing can stop it from happening,” she told the discussion organised by Awami League’s student affiliate Bangladesh Chhatra League.

The process to try 1971 war criminals kicked off in 2009 after Hasina’s Awami League came to power.

Speaking at Wednesday’s discussion, she emphasised preserving the ‘true’ history of Bangladesh’s independence. “Without it, we will not exist,” she observed.

Earlier, Syed Badrul Ahsan, journalist and researcher, spoke on the life and times of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In his nearly hour-long presentation, he dwelt on Bangabandhu’s rise to national prominence in pre-1971 Pakistan.

His firmness of leadership, said the journalist, had no room for compromise because he was always focused on achieving democratic rights for the Bengali nation.

In the course of his talk, Ahsan referred to the Father of the Nation’s interactions with the general masses, with journalists and global leaders.

He also spoke of the high esteem in which Bangabandhu was held by other statesmen around the world and of their grief at his assassination.