51st Chuknagar Genocide Day observed

The 51st Chuknagar Genocide Day was observed in Khulna on Friday with befitting manner through various programmes.

Khulna District Administration and different socio-cultural organisation placed wreaths at the monument, a memorial built near Bhadra River in memory of ’71 martyred, marking the day.

The day began by hoisting of national flag at the’ Chuknagar Ganohattya-71 Srimty Boddhyabhumi’under Dumuria upazila.

Afterwards, different organisations including Khulna District Administration, Chuknagar Ganohattya-71 Smrity Rakkha Parishad, Amra-71-Dhaka, Chief Investigator of International Crime Tribunal and former Inspector General of Police(IGP) M Sanaul Haque, Khulna Mahanagar Bangabandhu Parishad, Dumuria Upazila Muktijodha Command, Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee and Jashore Udichi placed wreaths at 11 points of river Bhadra where Pakistani army left bodies of innocent Bengalies into the river after killing on that day in 1971.

A discussion was held in the evening at the genocide memorial. President of Chuknagar Ganohattya -71 Smrity Rakkha Parishad ABM Shafiqul Islam presided over the meeting while Acting Principal of Chuknagar College Monirul Islam conducted the meeting.

Among others, ex-IGP M Sanaul Haque, organizer of Amra-71 Mahbub Zaman, journalists Bibhu Ranjan Sarkar, Joyanti Roy and Mahfuza Jesmin, president of Jashore Udichi Mahbubur Rahman Maznu and general secretary Sazzatur Rahman Biplob addressed the meeting.

Speakers at the meeting urged the government to declare May 20 as National Mourning Day to pay respect to the victims of Chuknagar massacre and trial of the war criminals at any cost.

They demanded to produce the evidences of Chuknagar Genocide before the Geneva Convention for justice. Later, a cultural function was arranged to pay respect to the martyrs on the War of Liberation in 1971.

On May 20, 1971, few thousand men, women and children mostly belonging to minority community were slain by the Pakistan occupation forces at Chuknagar where they gathered to go to India. The forces sprayed bullets on them from light machine guns and semi-automatic rifles killing them on the spot within few hours.

The victims of the massacre hailed from Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Jashore and Gopalganj districts.

They had assembled at Chuknagar under Dumuria upazila of Khulna district to flee to India through nearby border route.