No scope to forget 1971: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said there is no scope to forget 1971, as that year marks the very identity of the nation. “That was the time when this land earned the dignity of becoming an independent country. We must always remember that. 1971 represents our existence, our identity, and our uniqueness,” he said.

He made the remarks on Saturday, November 1, at a discussion titled “Upcoming national election essential to protect independence, sovereignty, and democracy” organised by the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal and Muktijuddher Projonmo at the National Press Club.

Mirza Fakhrul said, “A certain force that opposed Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 now wants to diminish the significance of that year. They only want to glorify the movement of July 24. But we have struggled for 15 long years to establish democracy, to defeat fascist forces, and to remove Hasina from power. Our freedom fighters also fought in this struggle. If anyone now claims sole leadership of that movement, we cannot accept it.”

He added, “False cases have been filed against six million of our members. Our party chief and the most popular leader of this country, Begum Khaleda Zia, had to spend six years in prison on false charges, sentenced to ten years. There’s hardly anyone in the BNP without multiple cases—many here, including Hafiz Bhai, faced hundreds. Around 1,700 of our people, including Ilias Bhai, were disappeared, and 2,000 were killed under Sheikh Hasina’s fascist and monstrous regime. We have fought against that. We don’t want division here, but certain groups are deliberately trying to create it. Those who want to erase 1971 have only one goal—to deny it.”

The BNP leader continued, “Some joined hands with those who killed us in 1971 and killed our intellectuals, threw their bodies into killing grounds. We have not forgotten that. After the change in 1975, following November 7, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman began reforming Bangladesh—transforming the state structure from a one-party system to a multi-party democracy. After Sheikh Mujib’s five years of misrule, Ziaur Rahman gave us a new dream. Later, Begum Khaleda Zia moved the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system. Despite our objections, she introduced the caretaker government provision through a new election, under which four elections were held successfully and accepted by all. Sheikh Hasina later abolished it, taking away people’s right to vote.”

Mirza Fakhrul said the BNP is a pro-election party. “We have been talking about elections from the beginning. Just four or five days after the mass uprising, we said elections must be held within three months. Why? Because if a parliament had been formed through elections, these evil forces now rising would have no space to do so. The so-called reforms they’re trying to impose by deceiving people must be exposed.”

He further said, “We remember how we passed the charter, standing under umbrellas in front of Parliament in the rain. We signed the agreement with the understanding that all issues agreed upon by political parties would be included, while differing issues would be recorded as notes of dissent. But in the proposal submitted to the Chief Adviser, the note of dissent was completely omitted. Still, as a responsible political party, we held a press conference to clarify our stance. We didn’t take to the streets, didn’t surround the Chief Adviser’s residence or the Election Commission. Our position is clear: we will take responsibility for what we signed, but not for what we didn’t.”

Regarding the proposed “Public Representation (PR)” issue, Fakhrul said, “Whether PR will be implemented or not will be decided by the next parliament. The election announced for February 2026 must be held then. We agreed to a referendum, even though it wasn’t necessary. We said it should be held on election day—two ballots, one for the referendum and one for the parliamentary vote. That’s a sensible idea. But now they’re saying the referendum must be held first. We never asked to delay the election. We’ve consistently said it must be held as soon as possible. Stop deceiving the people with lies.”