Calling the BNP 'a party of Razakars', Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy has wondered whether its founder Gen Ziaur Rahman, who commanded a sector of the freedom fighters (FF), had any belief in the spirit of Bangladesh's independence, report agencies.
"Yes, Razakars will have to be tried because they are war criminals. But I would like to ask, could their supporters have any faith in the spirit of freedom?" said Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina's son.
"I would question can the man who brought these war criminals back to the country be a freedom fighter. No way," he said.
Joy was speaking at a discussion organised by Suchinta Foundation at a hotel in capital Dhaka Friday.
Jamaat-e-Islami, which led the collaborators of Pakistan Army during the 1971 Liberation War, was banned from politics after Bangladesh's birth. But in 1978, the then President Gen Ziaur Rahman rehabilitated Jamaat back into politics.
Bangladesh's war crimes tribunals have already convicted six top leaders of Jamaat and are still trying several others. The Awami League introduced the International Crimes Tribunal in 2009 after coming to power.
Joy Friday asked the audience at the discussion, "Aren't those who do politics along with Razakars are Razakars as well? Yes. The truth is BNP is a party of Razakars."
"If they want to prove otherwise, they must break their alliance with the party of Razakars (Jamaat)."
Meanwhile, Joy lamented that the positive activities of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) do not receive media coverage.
Joy questions Zia\\\'s FF credentials
FE Team | Published: November 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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