Observing the Victory Day

AS we embark on the 43rd year since achieving our national independence we are reminiscent of our finest hour of freedom wrested from implacable enemy hands. Much as we celebrate the occasion we solemnly express our gratitude to the countless we have been indebted to.
We have achieved a good deal in terms of socio-economic indicators, in the textile sector, in respect of empowerment of women, in primary and secondary education and, above all, earned an appellation as a 'model of development' among the LDCs.
Unfortunately, however, we are also having to contend with some inimical forces arrayed against the core values of our Liberation War. In this context, the AL government can be credited with having conducted War Crimes Trials, handing out convictions to those who committed crimes against humanity in 1971 (awaiting completion of legal processes) and carrying out maximum punishment against Quader Mollah.
We fondly remember Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his able lieutenants -- Tajuddin Ahmad, Syed Nazrul Islam, Captain Mansur Ali and Kamruzzaman -- who led us to freedom. We also recall the cooperation of the people and the government of India led by Indira Gandhi who stood by us in our desperate hour of need. Their soldiers' blood was mixed with our soil. We are grateful to numerous foreign friends of Bangladesh, international media and cultural icons.
But when the land of possibilities is pitted against suffocating and fiercely violent politics of egotism and expediency in which partisan agendas override national interest, we are left frustrated and exasperated. We must come out on the other side of the dark tunnel we find ourselves in.