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BangladeshNationalist Party-BNP
Message from BNP Acting Chairman Mr. Tarique Rahman on the Occasion of the Great Victory Day
Message
“After nine months of the Liberation War, the nation achieved victory on 16 December 1971. On this day, I extend my heartfelt greetings to the people of Bangladesh at home and abroad. May their lives be filled with happiness, peace, prosperity, and well-being.
On this day, the nine-month-long War of Independence came to an end, leading to the birth of an independent state named Bangladesh. I pay my deepest respect to all the valiant freedom fighters and martyrs who laid down their lives in the Liberation War of Bangladesh. I pray for the eternal peace of the souls of the martyred heroes. I also offer my profound salutations to those mothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifices to free the nation from foreign domination.
The War of Independence, which began on 26 March 1971 following the call of the proclaimer of independence, President Ziaur Rahman, culminated in victory on 16 December of the same year through the defeat of the Pakistani occupation forces. The indomitable freedom fighters of the country snatched this victory by risking their lives. Therefore, 16 December stands as an epic day of national pride, joy, and profound sacrifice.
On this great day, I extend my respectful greetings to those heroic soldiers.
The founding spirit of the new state was to establish Bangladesh on democratic principles based on social justice and freedom from exploitation. However, inhuman fascist forces repeatedly buried that aspiration and imposed destructive misrule upon the people, halting the progress of multi-party democracy.
Although our beloved motherland was liberated from enemy forces in 1971, the conspiratorial blueprints of hostile forces still persist. Aggressive powers continue to show audacity in undermining our independence and sovereignty. Their domestic agents keep weaving webs of conspiracy to endanger our hard-earned freedom. For the past 16 years, they have mocked public opinion by staging one-sided and farcical elections, stripping the people of all democratic rights. Civil liberties were erased, people were rendered rightless, multi-party democracy was made to disappear, and freedom of the press, speech, and individual liberty were extinguished.
In a democracy-less state, the arrogance of absolute power plunged society into darkness filled with fear, despair, and chaos. Power usurpers unleashed brutal attacks on the people, forcibly disappeared and killed countless individuals, and imprisoned millions through false cases. The situation became terrifyingly anarchic.
The undisputed leader who dedicated her life to the struggle for democracy was unjustly imprisoned and kept in dark confinement. The inhuman oppressive ruling clique continued to take one anti-people step after another in an attempt to cling to power permanently.
Inspired by the spirit of the Great Victory Day, a national unity was forged to protect the independence and sovereignty of our beloved motherland from fascist forces and to rescue democracy from danger. As a result, the world-shaking student–people’s movement of July–August 2024 defeated them, leading to the fall of one of the most ruthless dictators in history. Once again, hope emerged for safeguarding independence and sovereignty and for the revival of multi-party democracy in the country.
At this moment, it is imperative to ensure an environment for holding free, fair, and credible elections without obstruction, in order to form a welfare-oriented and accountable government. On this Victory Day, let our commitment for a discrimination-free Bangladesh be that we will forget division and hatred and stand beside one another as human beings.
On the occasion of the Great Victory Day, I call upon all the people of the country with this appeal. I wish success to all programs undertaken in observance of Victory Day.
Allah Hafez, Bangladesh Zindabad.
