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Jail killing

12 September 2004, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Shamsher Chowdhury, Dhaka
12 September 2004, 18:00 PM
Former Bangladeshi Lt. Col Syed Faruk Rahman. PHOTO: AFP
My attention has been drawn to a news report under the caption" verdict shifted" covering the latest twist and turn in the shifting of date for delivering of judgement in the sensational murder of four of our front line national Leaders. Like the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, this too is a disgraceful chapter of our history. As a matter of fact, this in a way is no less a tragedy than the assassination of the father of the nation for the sheer "circumstances" in which the heinous act was carried out. The present government may have to bear the major share of the blame for not expediting the trial and justice in both the cases, but the fact remains that the previous governments particularly the past government of Awami League too could not be totally exonerated for its share of inability, inaction and failure.

It has become a part of our political culture to cry for justice only when it hurts concerned individuals, their families or their partisan interests. No one really does anything in this country to uphold an institutional legacy from the standpoint of national concern. I continue to live with the memory of kidnapping and killing of one of my brothers during the War of Liberation, one of the most recognised intellectuals and champion of democracy of his time alongside two hundred others of no less calibre and consequence. To this day, I continue to be baffled by the failures of the then AL government to bring the criminals to justice.

Let us face facts: we all are equally guilty for this state of affairs in varying degrees. Yet the fact remains that we must continue to fight for "justice" at every opportunity while rising above political consideration of any dimension.

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