Caught in the whirl of political chaos, the freedom fighters have been deprived of their just rights and status in the society, they said.

The Freedom Fighters Council organised the Dhaka divisional conference of freedom fighters at the Gonosasthya Nagar Hospital in the city.

The speakers said the freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for political and economic freedom, social justice, rule of law and democracy, but none of these exists now in the country.

"The war did not come to an end yet. We fought against the Pakistani forces in 1971 to free our motherland from the occupation of Pakistan, but now we have to fight against the evil forces who want to destroy our freedom," said Dr Jafarullah Chowdhury, chief adviser to the council.

The political parties have failed to bring any qualitative changes to the lives of the common people, he said, adding that the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer and the politics has turned into a game of money and muscle.

Jafarullah said the politicisation of administration began to creep in during the liberation war and it grew stronger, depriving the freedom fighters of their rights.

"The freedom fighters joined the liberation war not for their personal gain but to free the country from the grip of Pakistani occupation forces," said Lt. Col. (retd) Quazi Nuruzzaman, commander of Sector-7 comprised of greater Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra and Dinajpur districts.

It is a shame for the nation that those brave sons of the soil now have to lobby at the government offices for a job, he added.

Captain (retd.) M Nurul Huda, chairman of the council, said, "It is regrettable that we also could not take the political leadership of the country. But time has come to get rid of the current crises by bringing honest leadership to power."

Major Gen (retd) Azaz Ahmed said, "It is regrettable that the freedom fighters are losing their identity due to political corruption."

Freedom fighter Rahim Jahangir called for strengthening the unity of the freedom fighters to establish democracy and rule of law.

"If needed, we shall go for another war, but we must not let the evil forces remain in power," he added.

Freedom fighter Faruque-e-Azam recalled the immense contribution of the women to the liberation war and urged all to involve them in the mainstream of life.