Govt suspends Razakars’ list

Amid nationwide outrage and angry protests, the Liberation War affairs ministry yesterday suspended the controversial and flawed Razakars’ list three days after its publication. 

The decision came hours after Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed the ministries concerned to “correct the list” by dropping the names of freedom fighters from it.

Many freedom fighters were utterly shocked to see their names on the list of Razakars who collaborated with the Pakistan occupation army in carrying out mass killings and atrocities against the Bangalees during the 1971 Liberation War. 

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Freedom fighters on Razakars’ list!

The Daily Star found at least 25 freedom fighters or organisers of the war on the list published a day before Victory Day.

Following this, freedom fighters and pro-liberation people have been staging demonstrations across the country, demanding cancellation of the list.

Yesterday, they held protest rallies and formed human chains in Sirajganj town, Barishal city and several other parts of the country.

“We have suspended the Razakars’ list as there are allegations that it contains names of freedom fighters,” Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque told The Daily Star over the phone last night.

“We will publish a fresh list on March 26 after scrutinising this one properly,” he said without elaborating.

In a statement around 7:30pm, the ministry said they received felicitations for the list from various quarters and also drew huge criticism for mistakes in it.

The list was suspended so that there was no misunderstanding among pro-liberation people in the country, it said.

“The prime minister has given instructions to make corrections in the list after scrutiny. Discussions with different quarters are needed to decide on how to complete the review of the list within the shortest possible time,” Mozammel said in the statement.

The ministry had withdrawn the list from its website before issuing the statement.

Earlier, Quader, also general secretary of the Awami League, said, “There are some mistakes in the list, which have come to our notice. The prime minister has given instructions to the home and Liberation War affairs ministries to correct the list immediately.”

The PM directed the authorities concerned to publish a fresh list of Razakars after verification, he told reporters after a meeting at the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue.

CONTROVERSY

The government on Sunday published the names of 10,789 Razakars, Al-Badrs, Al-Shams and anti-liberation elements who collaborated with the Pakistan occupation army in 1971.

At a press briefing that day, Mozammel said the list was based on records preserved at the home ministry, and that it was the first of the phases in which the government will make public the names of Razakars.

Astonishingly, the names of a number of freedom fighters and pro-liberation people were found in the list.

It even carried the names of freedom fighter Ghulam Arieff Tipoo, chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, and freedom fighter Mirza Abdul Latif, who led a group of 500 freedom fighters in the country’s northern region in 1971. 

In the face of nationwide outrage and angry protests, Mozammel said they just published the Razakars’ list provided by the home ministry without any modification.

On Tuesday, Mozammel and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan traded blame over preparation of the list.

Asaduzzaman said his ministry provided the Razakars’ list following a request from the Liberation War affairs ministry.

He also said his ministry sent a “note” to that ministry to scrutinise the list but it didn’t take the “note” into consideration.

Yesterday, the home boss said his ministry did not forward the list of Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams to the Liberation War affairs ministry. Rather, his ministry handed it a list of the accused in cases filed under the Collaborators Act.

Talking to reporters at his office, Asaduzzaman said at least 996 people were acquitted in the cases but their names were still on the list. The Liberation War affairs ministry published the list without dropping those names.

The Liberation War affairs ministry is responsible for publishing the flawed list of Razakars, he said, adding that action should be taken against those involved in publishing the list.

He also claimed his ministry was not even informed that the list would be published.

In January 1972, the then Bangladesh government enacted the Collaborators Act to try war criminals and those who collaborated with the Pakistan army. Later, 37,000 people were arrested and sent to jail. About 26,000 of them, however, were freed following the announcement of a general amnesty.

Around 11,000 were behind bars when the government of Justice Sayem and General Ziaur Rahman repealed the Collaborators Act on December 31, 1975. An appeal spree and release of war criminals en masse followed the scrapping of the law.

MINISTER BLAMES BNP-JAMAAT

Mozammel yesterday blamed the BNP-Jamaat alliance for the mistakes in the Razakars’ list.

“While in power, they [the BNP-Jamaat government] might have included names of freedom fighters in the Razakars’ list kept at the home ministry. It was beyond our imagination. The mistakes occurred because of this.”

Addressing a freedom fighters’ rally in Manikganj, he said the names of freedom fighters would be dropped from the list.  

He also said they will be careful so that there is no mistake in the new list.

PROTESTS ON

People from all walks of life demonstrated in Sirajganj town and the district’s Tarash upazila yesterday, demanding that the names of freedom fighters Abdul Latif Mirza and Khorshed Alam be removed from the Razakars’ list.

Earlier at a protest rally and human chain in front of Sirajganj Press Club, demonstrators gave the Liberation War affairs ministry until December 24 to drop the names of freedom fighters from the list.

Another protest programme was organised by Barishal Reporters Unity in front of Barishal Ashwini Kumar Hall.

DEMAND FOR MINISTER’S RESIGNATION

In separate statements yesterday, the Left Democratic Alliance and the Communist Party of Bangladesh demanded resignation of the Liberation War affairs minister and punishment of those involved in preparing the controversial list.

In another statement, Sector Commanders Forum said it was aggrieved as names of freedom fighters were included in the list.

It also demanded formation of a probe commission to identify those who prepared the list with “false and inconsistent information”.

Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad said it was shocked to see names of members of the minority communities in the list.

Contacted, Mozammel said the protesters have every right to demand his resignation.

“Ask them to wait and see whether I resign or not,” he told this newspaper.