President, PM pay homage to Liberation War martyrs

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today paid rich tributes to the Liberation War martyrs by placing wreaths at the National Memorial in Savar on the capital’s outskirts this morning marking the 52nd Independence and National Day.
The President first placed the wreath at the altar of the memorial followed by the Prime Minister.

After laying the wreaths, the President and the Premier stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs of the Great War of Liberation in 1971.

A smartly turned-out contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented a state salute at that time while the bugles played the last post.

The head of the state and the head of the government also signed the visitors’ book kept on the memorial premises.

Flanked by her party leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the Awami League, paid glowing tributes to the Liberation War martyrs by placing another wreath at the National Memorial on behalf of the party.

Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, senior Awami League leaders and high civil and military officials, among others, were present on the occasion.

Later, the Jatiya Sangsad speaker and the chief justice also paid homage to the martyrs by placing wreaths at the National Mausoleum.

Meanwhile, after paying homage at the National Memorial, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu at Dhanmondi 32 No.

Every year, March 26 brings the most tragic reminiscence of history’s blackest episode that heralded a nine-month bloody ordeal from the night of March 25, 1971, achieving the long-cherished independence on December 16 the same year at the cost of a sea of blood.

In the wake of the military crackdown, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who became the undisputed leader of the then Pakistan following the massive victory of his party, Awami League, in the 1970 general elections, declared the independence of Bangladesh through the then EPR (East Pakistan Rifles) wireless at 00-30 hours on March 26 (the night following March 25) in 1971 at his historic Road-32 residence at Dhanmondi in the capital.

The great leader also called upon the people to build up strong resistance against the Pakistani barbaric occupation forces.

The Pakistani military junta, in a bid to stop the legitimate movement of the Bangalees, arrested Bangabandhu on that night following his declaration of Independence.

Later, Bangabandhu was taken to the then-West Pakistan where he had to spend nine months in a dark condemned cell.

Bangabandhu wrote down the declaration of independence soon after the Pakistani army cracked down on the fateful night of March 25, 1971.

The declaration of independence was soon put on air by wireless. The declaration was first broadcast by Awami League leader MA Hannan from Kalurghat Radio Station in the port city of Chittagong on March 26, 1971.

The Pakistani military junta in their monstrous outburst unleashed a bloody holocaust breaking the silence of the night following March 25 in 1971 when they mercilessly killed hundreds of innocent sleeping Bangalees, including teachers, students, police, soldiers, pedestrians and rickshaw-pullers, here.

The nation soon launched the War of Liberation at the call of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the early hours of March 26.

Bangladesh emerged as an independent and sovereign country on December 16, 1971, with the surrender of the Pakistani occupation forces, who killed three million innocent civilians, perpetrated atrocities on two lakh Bangalee women and burnt down lakhs of houses across the country during the nine-month bloody war.