Bangladesh
Zia Murders There should be trial for the murder of numerous armed forces officers during Zia's rule: PM Hasina
Dhaka, October 5: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stressed on the need to create public opinion for the killing of a number of Armed Forces officers on the pretext of military coup during the rule of Ziaur Rahman.
"I think action should be taken when there is a demand for this," she said. "For this, good public opinion also needs to be created. How he (Ziaur Rahman) killed the people."
The Prime Minister made the comments while responding to questions from reporters at a press conference on her participation in the 76th session of the UN General Assembly and her visit to the United States, at Ganobhaban on Monday afternoon.
Sheikh Hasina said, "After '75, there have been repeated coups in Bangladesh and in the name of this coup not only the officers, soldiers or employees of the Air Force but also many people of the army have been killed."
She told reporters, "If you look at the prisons, how many people have been hanged there, then you will see that thousands of such people have been executed. Their families have not received the bodies and no one has ever been held accountable for their disappearance."
On the allegation of killing army and air force officers against Ziaur Rahman, the Prime Minister said, "It is a matter of hope that after so many years, everyone's consciousness has awakened, but my question is why everyone forgot it for so long."
She said, "It is a known fact that Ziaur Rahman did these things to unleash his power. Not only the military but also many leaders and activists of our Awami League have been killed and their bodies disappeared."
He slammed the media and the BNP at the time, saying, "He was made an angel and in the end he was made a announcer of independence. My question is why no one talked about it. Because I did not have the right to seek justice for the murder of my parents or siblings. We could not see their bodies. But I have tried this murder (father of the nation) because I was able to come to power. On the other hand, the BNP has never tried the murder of Ziaur Rahman."
The Prime Minister said, "The execution of 11 military officers for mutiny is also very unfair. Because, many of them did not know, but were hanged after a camera trial overnight."
Mentioning that they protested then, Sheikh Hasina said, "We protested then that this needs to be investigated."
