Shawdesh desk:

There is little progress in bringing back Chowdhury Mueenuddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, the only convicts for killing martyred intellectuals during the War of Independence, while neither justice has been delivered for other martyred intellectuals nor has a complete list of them been made.

Families of martyred intellectuals alleged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not take any official steps to bring the duo back to the country and execute the sentence.

Against this backdrop, the nation is observing another Martyred Intellectuals Day today.

Mueen and Ashraf, two Al-Badr leaders found guilty of killing 18 intellectuals, including journalists, university teachers, and physicians, by an International Crimes Tribunal-2 on November 3, 2013, are currently living in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively.

‘We came to know that the foreign ministry did not give any official letter to any authorities to bring back Mueenuddin and Ashrafuzzaman. The ministry was repeatedly saying that they would be brought back soon, every year ahead of this day,’ Asif Munier, son of martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury, told New Age.

He said that lobbying was required to bring back the killers alongside the official process.

He also expressed dissatisfaction over the Liberation War Affairs Ministry for not completing the lists of freedom fighters and martyred intellectuals.

‘It shows the ministry officials’ inefficiency and lack of willpower. If the ministry seeks help from the families of martyred intellectuals, we are ready to assist,’ Asif added.

Asked about the progress in bringing Mueenuddin and Ashrafuzzaman back home to ensure justice, foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said in the past week that Dhaka was in constant communication with Washington and London as part of the country’s efforts to bring the duo back.

The victim families also expressed dissatisfaction at the Liberation War Affairs Ministry’s inability to complete the lists of freedom fighters and collaborators to date.

Shaon Mahmud, daughter of musician and martyred intellectual Altaf Mahmud, said her father’s name was yet to be included in the gazette lists of freedom fighters and martyred intellectuals.

‘We do not get the allowance of freedom fighters as my father is not included in the list. For inclusion in the list, a death certificate is required along with information about the sector in which he fought the war. He was a guerrilla freedom fighter. His name was not included in the primary list,’ she added.

She wondered, as her father was given the Ekushey Padak and Independence Award, why such documents would be required.

She urged the government to bring back the killers of intellectuals and ensure justice.

‘It is a matter of regret that the Liberation War Affairs Ministry could not complete the lists of freedom fighters, martyred intellectuals, and collaborators,’ she said.

Liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque told New Age on Wednesday that they had all but completed the lists of freedom fighters and martyred intellectuals.

‘We will discuss the families of martyred intellectuals. They will meet us with their necessary data and documents,’ he said.

Mozammel said Altaf Mahmud’s name was not included in the gazette lists of freedom fighters, as none applied for it.

‘We have included most names who applied to us,’ he added.

According to Bangla Academy’s Shaheed Buddhijibi Kosh, martyred intellectuals are those writers, scientists, artists, teachers, researchers, journalists, lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, government and non-government employees, people involved in film and theatre work, social workers, and cultural activists who were victims of targeted killings at the hands of the Pakistani army and their collaborators during the war in 1971.

Banglapedia applied the term ‘martyred intellectual’ to those educationists, journalists, litterateurs, physicians, scientists, lawyers, artists, philosophers, and political thinkers who were executed by collaborators under the directive and guidance of the Pakistani military rulers in 1971.

In March 2021, the government published a corrected partial list of freedom fighters and a fresh list of martyred intellectuals, with the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and four other national leaders at the top of the list.

The liberation war affairs ministry, in the first phase, recognised 1,47,537 persons as freedom fighters and 191 persons as martyred intellectuals.

In December 1972, the government published a partial list of 1,111 martyred intellectuals, including 991 teachers, 13 journalists, 49 physicians, 42 lawyers, and 16 writers, as victims of a systematic execution campaign carried out by the Pakistani army and their collaborators between March 25, 1971, and January 30, 1972.