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Sheikh Hasina has exhorted Bangladeshis to observe the National Day of Mourning on August 15, which is a national holiday there to mark the assassination of the nation’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is also her father. (Image: AFP)
Sheikh Hasina in a statement released via her son’s, Sajeeb Wazed, social media account demanded that violent protesters be punished.
Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday demanded justice for the lives lost during the recent protests. In a statement released through her son’s social media account, she said that she understands the pain people who lost their loved ones in the recent unrest felt.
প্রিয় দেশবাসী আসসালামুয়ালাইকুম ভাই ও বোনেরা, ১৯৭৫ সালে ১৫ই আগস্ট বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি জাতির পিতা বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানকে নির্মমভাবে হত্যা করে। তাঁর প্রতি গভীর শ্রদ্ধা জানাই। একই সাথে আমার মা বেগম ফজিলাতুন্নেসা, আমার তিন ভাই মুক্তিযোদ্ধা ক্যাপ্টেন শেখ কামাল,…— Sajeeb Wazed (@sajeebwazed) August 13, 2024
In her statement, she also demanded that people who took part in violence in the recent protests should also be arrested.
“I appeal to you to observe the National Day of Mourning on 15th August with due dignity and solemnity,” Hasina said in her statement, released on her son Sajeeb’s X page.
She said that she sends condolences to those who have been living with ‘the pain of losing a loved one’ and said she understands how those who lost their loved ones in the recent student quota protests are feeling.
“Since July, many lives have been lost due to vandalism, arson and violence in the name of agitation. Students, teachers, police including female cops, journalists, artists, people from the labour class, Awami League and affiliated organisation leaders, workers, pedestrians and workers in various institutions have died as victims of a terrorist attack, I am praying for their souls,” Hasina said in her statement.
“I demand that those involved in these killings and vandalism be properly investigated and the culprits be identified and punished accordingly,’ the former Bangladesh prime minister demanded.
Hasina also lamented that the Dhanmondi 32 residence was subjected to loot and arson. Her father was assassinated in the Dhanmondi 32 residence which was later turned into the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum. During the recent protests, irate mobs vandalised the museum and set fire to and looted items inside.
Hasina urged citizens to head to the memorial and pay their respects to the father of the nation on Thursday.