Bangladesh Police Detain Veterans in Dhaka Amid Disruption

Dhaka, Aug 28 (PTI) Bangladesh police on Thursday detained a 1971 Liberation War veteran and several others from a meeting disrupted by a mob branding the participants as accomplices of the “fascist regime” of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Witnesses and media reports say that several 1971 freedom fighters, academics, and former bureaucrats, under the banner of the newly formed 'Moncho 71', gathered at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity Auditorium for a discussion when a group of angry individuals stormed the event. The 'Moncho 71' platform, launched earlier this month, announced its commitment to upholding the “1971 Liberation War, Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the 1972 Constitution, the national flag, and the national anthem.” On Thursday, protesters accused attendees of conspiring against last year’s movement, known as the ‘July Uprising’. Sheikh Hasina was ousted following a massive student-led movement last year, fleeing the country on August 5, 2024, just days before Muhammad Yunus assumed the role of Chief Advisor of the Interim government. The group identifying themselves as ‘July warriors’ disrupted the meeting, tearing down banners and chanting, “Let the weapon of July roar again” and “Catch a league (Awami Leaguer), send him to jail,” vowing to prevent any conspiracy. “Freedom fighters of all political backgrounds were invited to the event. Soon after the programme started, over 25 young men came to the scene and created chaos,” 1971 veteran Golam Mostafa told reporters. Police reached the venue, detaining over a dozen participants, including Dhaka University law professor Hafizur Rahman. Among the detained was Latif Siddique, a 1971 veteran and former minister in the Awami League, expelled from Hasina's cabinet and party in 2014 for breaching discipline. Dhaka police’s deputy commissioner Masud Alam noted that the detainees were taken into custody to protect them from public unrest, with decisions on further actions to be made later. Police stated that detainees remain at their detective branch office but did not name anyone other than Siddique. Elderly lawyer and Liberation War veteran ZI Khan Panna, a key organiser of 'Moncho 71', was absent due to health issues but condemned the “mob attack” in a video message on social media. Panna denounced the agitators as “a group of miscreants,” criticizing the lack of “freedom of expression” under Muhammad Yunus's interim government. This incident followed commentary by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s BNP, alleging efforts to erase the 1971 Liberation War from public memory. Alamgir asserted that those who “helped enemies” are now vocal, implicitly referencing the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party, which opposed 1971 independence from Pakistan. “We fought in the independence war of 1971. We have not forgotten 1971. It is not possible to forget,” Alamgir added.