bdnews24.com :
The Awami League, its supporters, freedom fighters and the army did not play the role expected of them after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“Perhaps our party, its supporters and freedom fighters could not play the proper roles expected of them after such an incident [Bangabandhu’s killing],” she said in a discussion on Thursday, organised by the Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League to commemorate National Mourning Day.
“The first attack was on Serniabat’s and Sheikh Moni’s house. When Bangabandhu heard the news and when the attackers opened fire on our house, Bangabandhu had called everyone. He spoke to Abdur Razzaq, Tofail Ahmed and army chief Shafiullah. Those who were expected to do their duties-even the army-did not perform properly. We need to unpack this mystery.”
The Father of the Nation and most of his family were killed on Aug 15, 1975 by a group of rogue army officers, only four years after Bangladesh had won its independence. His daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana escaped because they were abroad at that time.
Over two decades after Bangabandhu’s killing, the Awami League, led by Hasina, returned to power and began the trial of Bangabandhu’s murder. The trial has since come to a close and most of the convicts have had their sentences executed, but there has always been much talk of a conspiracy behind Bangabandhu’s murder.
A commission will be formed soon to unearth the conspiracy once the pandemic ebbs, Law Minister Anisul Huq has said. Hasina returned home in 1981 as the chief of Awami League after six years of exile. Since then, she has been leading the Awami League, which recently formed the government for a third consecutive term.
“The day I returned to Bangladesh, I had already lost my family. They had prevented me from coming home before then. Even then when I returned by force, I could no longer see their familiar faces.
