Zia not freedom fighter at heart, says Amu

Awami League (AL) advisory council member Amir Hossain Amu Friday said late President Ziaur Rahman was not a freedom fighter at heart and there is no proof he ever took part in face to face fight during the War of Liberation in 1971, reports UNB. "Though Ziaur Rahman was a sector commander, there is no proof he ever took part in face to face fight," he said while addressing a discussion in observance of the Mujib Nagar Day. AL presidium member Yusuf Hossain Humayun spoke as the special guest while State Minister for Law advocate Qamrul Islam was the key speaker at the discussion, organised at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) by Dhaka district unit of Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote with its joint convener Humayun Kabir Miji in the chair. Addressing the meeting as the chief guest, Amu said there were 11 sector commanders during the War of Liberation. Ziaur Rahman was one of them but he did not take part in any face to face fight. He said: "Many of the sector commanders were injured but there was no sign of injury on Ziaur Rahman's body. There is no evidence he had participated in the war." The senior AL leader alleged that the opposition is trying to hatch a conspiracy capitalising on the Women Policy and urged all to remain alert and unitedly face any such conspiracy. bdnews24.com adds: State Minister for law Qamrul Islam has said that he does not consider Liberation War sector commander Ziaur Rahman as a 'real freedom fighter'. "He was a freedom fighter by chance, an opportunistic freedom fighter," Qamrul said. Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote leader and cultural personality Syed Hasan Imam, freedom fighter and actor Farid Ali, acting general secretary Arun Sarkar Rana, journalist Sajjad Hossain and Krishak League vice-president Jahangir Alam, among others, also spoke at the meeting.