Stripping Zia of Bir Uttam: ‘We will now look into the legal aspects’

A probe body of Jatiya Muktijoddha Council will meet soon to look into the legal aspects of revoking gallantry awards given to late president Ziaur Rahman and killers of Bangabandhu and their patrons.

The council at a meeting on Tuesday decided in principle to revoke the gallantry awards of Zia and four self-declared killers of Bangabandhu: Shariful Haq Dalim, Nur Chowdhury, Rashed Chowdhury, and Mosleh Uddin.

Zia, the four others, and their families would not get any state facilities or benefits for their role in the country's Liberation War, the council decided.

Zia is the founder of the BNP. He was awarded the Bir Uttam title for his role in the Liberation War. He was commander of one of the 11 sectors of the Liberation War.

Presided over by Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, also chairman of the council, the meeting formed the probe body with Awami League MP Eng Mosharraf Hossain as its chief.

Minister Mozammel yesterday told reporters that the probe committee was also tasked with finding out how the names of Zia and the four killers of Bangabandhu remained on the ministry website as award recipients and collect evidence on how "Ziaur Rahman was involved in the killing of Bangabandhu".

"We will sit for a meeting soon to verify legal aspects regarding the decision to revoke the gallantry awards of Zia and four other killers of Bangabandhu," Shajahan Khan, an AL MP and a member of the probe body, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Shajahan, a former minister and a member of the council, said they would also seek vetting from the law ministry in this regard.

Talking to reporters, Law Minister Anisul Haq yesterday said there would be no legal complications regarding cancellation of the freedom fighter's title of Zia.

"If someone is a freedom fighter, then it is normal for him to have the title of freedom fighter. But if a freedom fighter ruined the spirit of the Liberation War, I want to leave the question to the people as to whether he has any right to hold the title," the law minister told reporters after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The alleged involvement of Zia in the conspiracy to assassinate Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members has always been discussed by top Awami League leaders, including its President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, elder daughter of Bangabandhu.

Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana luckily escaped the mayhem on August 15, 1975 when Bangabandhu and most of his family were murdered.

According to the list of gallantry award winning freedom fighters on the website of the Liberation War Affairs Ministry, Shariful Haque Dalim was a "Bir Uttam", Nur Chowdhury a "Bir Bikram", and Rashed Chowdhury and Mosleh Uddin were "Bir Pratik".

Talking to The Daily Star, Mozammel yesterday said "Zia was involved in the assassination of Bangabandhu" and his gallantry award should be revoked.

"There are many instances in the world in which gallantry awards given to people were revoked later for their roles. We have come to a decision that the title conveyed to him [Zia] is not honourable for the state ," the minister said.

He said evidence supporting Zia's "involvement in the killing of Bangabandhu" was being collected and the probe body would evaluate and submit those to the council.

BNP'S REACTION

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who is being treated at a hospital in Singapore, yesterday told The Daily Star that the council's decision to revoke Zia's "Bir Uttam" title insulted and disrespected the freedom fighters.

Fakhrul said Ziaur Rahman did not give the recognition to himself and that the Bangabandhu's government had bestowed the honour on him.

SECTOR COMMANDERS' FORUM

Haroon Habib, secretary general of SCF, yesterday told The Daily Star that Ziaur Rahman did not have the right to hold the title of "Bir Uttam" for his patronisation of the killers of Bangabandhu and Razakars.

"It is historically true that Ziaur Rahman took part in the Liberation War. But it is also historically true that Zia distorted the history of the Liberation War and rehabilitated the killers of Bangabandhu."

On September 7, 2016, the government removed the Swadhinata Padak (Independence Award) of Ziaur Rahman from the National Museum. Zia's name was also removed from the 2003 list of Independence Award recipients that has been on display on the Cabinet Division's website.

In 2003, the then BNP-Jamaat four-party alliance government gave the Swadhinata Padak, the highest civilian award, to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman for their roles in the Liberation War and nation building.

The Awami League refused the award. The then government then sent the medals and citation papers to the National Museum for display.

On August 24, 2016, the cabinet committee on national award affairs in a meeting recommended revoking Zia's Swadhinata Padak and removing his medal and documents from the museum.