THE revocation of forged freedom fighters’ certificates of 35 public servants destroys the sanctity of the Liberation War, the highest achievement of the nation. The Liberation War Affairs Ministry on Monday unwrapped the dirt in public service, including, irregularities, anomalies, and corruption in recruitment and the immorality of some high-ranked officials. The unearthing of the forged FF certificates of public servants further muddied the proud achievements of our liberation war as earlier the crests, presented to the friends of our liberation war for the gallant courage during the birth of the nation, were found to be substandard. All such felonies are being committed during the pro-liberation regime; apparently the Liberation War has become a subject of power, jobs and trade.Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said they are investigating 300 government employees and about 5,000 people from different professions who allegedly managed certificates by forging documents, adding that the government would publish the names of the 35 in a gazette soon. He said departmental action against them will follow and all privileges will be cancelled following the gazette notification. The move comes amid widespread allegations that a large number of government officials fraudulently obtained freedom fighters’ certificates over the past few years to extend their service period by one year.In November 2012, the government extended the retirement age of freedom fighters from 59 years to 60. Following the extension, the number of freedom fighters in government services stood at around 11,000. Of them, those in the final years of their service now were at best 15 or 16 years old during the Liberation War. To identify fake freedom fighters in the civil bureaucracy, the government set a bench-mark of ‘age 13′ as being a freedom fighter would be “unrealistic” for those below that age.Getting a freedom fighters’ certificate got momentum over the past five years as some 11,150 people from different professions got freedom fighters’ certificates. At present, there are 2.12 lakh freedom fighters as against 1.98 lakh in the gazette published in 2002. Under the rules, freedom fighters, their children and grandchildren enjoy 30 percent quota in government jobs. In addition, freedom fighters’ children and grandchildren get special quotas in public schools, colleges and universities.Our grave concern is that a section of people with the collaboration of local freedom fighters, influential persons-MP and Ministers, and the Muktijoddha Council-the authorised body to issue fresh certificates, and government officials run a money making business by selling fake freedom fighters’ certificates by bribing police and investigation agencies to get undue privileges and benefits for them and for their dependents as the government reserved 30% quota against less than 1% of the population for public jobs, widens the corruption scope. It is our suggestion to the government to book the culprits involved with every level of the certificate issuance through forgery to be brought under justice and to justify the quota provision in the public jobs and other sectors suppressing meritocracy. Surely, those who fought for freedom be honoured, but honouring them should not involve their getting special privileges that inflame corruption in the name of the liberation war.
