EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

March 26 : Forty years on

We recall our leaders, our martyrs, our friends abroad

We celebrate today the dawn of an arduous struggle we launched four decades ago even as the might of the Pakistan occupation army sought to quell the spirit of nationalism in us by the genocide it had unleashed on the preceding night. United by a common resolve to be free and sustained by the thought that ours was a struggle that would surely end in triumph, we went to war to reclaim what had always been ours. This morning, we remember with pride the powerful, eloquent leadership provided by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at a time when the forces of darkness seemed to close in on us. His dream, together with the fashioning of battlefield strategy by his competent colleagues in the Mujibnagar government -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M. Mansoor Ali and A.H.M. Quamruzzaman -- was to carry our movement through to victory by the end of the year. We also recall the initial revolt by Bengalis in the Pakistan army and those in the erstwhile East Pakistan Rifles, who formed the early nucleus of our armed resistance. We recall too our three million compatriots through whose supreme sacrifices over a long period of nine months we came by the right to live as free citizens of a free land.

Our recollections of this day in 1971 will not be complete without remembering the huge contributions made to our cause by representatives of the global media then present in Dhaka. They not only highlighted the political negotiations that went on between 1 and 25 March but also, more importantly, our suffering as also our resilience of spirit following the army crackdown. Their reports and commentaries informed the world of the dimensions of the tragedy wrought by the state of Pakistan in Bangladesh and of the resistance our valiant Mukti Bahini, indeed our entire population, were putting up despite the superior firepower of the enemy. To them and to others --- men like Andre Malraux --- in the international community goes our gratitude.

On the fortieth anniversary of the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, it is only proper that we re-emphasise the necessity of a trial of the war criminals of 1971 to go ahead, quickly and judiciously. In the interest of justice, guided by the supreme need to have the collaborators of the Pakistan occupation army answer for their crimes committed forty years ago, let the trial commence under due legal process. A celebration of freedom without bringing the killers of our martyrs to account cannot quite be fulfilling.

Stop pre-polls violence

Onus is on political parties

Pre-polls violence has become a regular phenomenon in our country. Starting from union to upazilla level elections we witness pre-poll violence of some form or the other, sometimes even leading to large scale injuries, destruction of property and deaths of political activists and non activists alike.

With the Union Parishad polls closing in on us, intermittent pre-election violence is being reported from across the country. Only recently, at least 75 people were injured in pre-poll clashes between the supporters of rival candidates for chairmen in three upazillas in Patuakhali.

Union Parishad elections are important for ensuring a strong foundation of local governance and development institutions at the grassroots. To guarantee this, we need to do away with all kinds of provocation and intimidation among the followers of the candidates.

This sordid practice has created a dent in people's belief in peaceful elections, particularly at local levels, where the contests are of intense nature. Violence occurs even on Election Day, thereby posing a threat to the polls outcome. But, in essence, people have got used to exercising their right to franchise in ever increasing fervour. This trend has to be maintained.

Apart from the Election Commission and the government agencies, such as the police, Rab or even the armed forces, doings their bit, it is the senior leaders of the political parties and the contestants who should be active in keeping their supporters in check. Although local elections are supposed to be held on a non-party basis, party colours get nailed on them and so some confrontational element willy-nilly gets into the process. This must not happen.

The Election Commission has already held, with reasonable success, the Upazilla polls and elections to municipalities. It now devolves on all concerned to do everything possible to maintain that trend at the forthcoming polls as well.