BNP for declaring Feb 25 as nat’l mourning day

Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Friday demanded that either February 25 or February 26 be declared as national mourning day when 57 army officers were killed in a mutiny at the Pilkhana headquarters of the erstwhile BDR in the capital in 2009.
BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the demand at a news briefing at the party’s central office.
He said the brutal and tragic killings of the army officers took place on February 25 and February 26 in 2009, which shocked the whole nation.
Rizvi said the country’s army played a pivotal role in the liberation war but, he lamented, the 57 brilliant army officers were killed in Feb 25-26 and their families were tortured and humiliated.
He observed that such a big number of army officers were not killed at a time in the history of the world and not even in many wars.
Many were convicted for the ‘pre-planned’ incident of Pilkhana killings while many remained ‘at large’, he claimed.
Although it was heard that many people of the ruling party were involved in the tragic incident but attempts were made to hush it up, he alleged.
The BNP leader said the entire matter still remained a ‘mystery’. 
There might be a ‘local’ and ‘international’ conspiracy to weaken the army, symbol of protection for a nation’s independence and sovereignty, Rizvi said.
He said a high profile neutral probe committee should be formed to resolve the mystery of the Pilkhana tragedy and commented that the previous investigation was ‘not adequate’.
On the latest price hike of gas, the BNP senior joint secretary general said it was the Awami League government which increased price of natural gas by five folds in three phases.
He said the government announced raising the price of gas only for plundering, even when the gas companies were making profit currently and lives of people had become unbearable because of widespread corruption, misrule and looting.
Rizvi said the finance minister was in favour of giving speed money or bribe and this was why the Anti-Corruption Commission was giving certificates of immunity to the ruling party men, rather than curbing corruption.
False cases against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman and other leaders were kept alive just to keep the prime minister happy, he said.
Rizvi once again asked the government to withdraw ‘anti-people’ step of increasing the price of natural gas.
BNP leaders including Ahmed Azam Khan, Mahbubuddin Khokon and Monir Hossain were present at the briefing.

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