Dismissed BDR members gather at Shaheed Minar for 6-point demand

The dismissed BDR members are observing a sit-in programme at the Central Shaheed Minar to press home their six-point demand, including the reinstatement of all sacked BDR personnel with government compensation and the release of those still imprisoned.

They started gathering on the Shaheed Minar premises under the banner of ‘Justice for BDR’ since 9 am on Tuesday (February 11).

The BDR Kalyan Parishad organised the programme where their family members are also present.

The six-point demands include:

1. 18 special courts and a summary court inside and outside Pilkhana will have to be established to reinstate all dismissed BDR members and provide compensation and state facilities.

2. BDR members who have been acquitted in murder cases or have completed their sentences will have to be released immediately.

3. The commission formed must work independently and impartially. The provision in the gazette notification concerning Section 2 (Uma) should be removed. Additionally, based on an independent investigation report, innocent BDR members who have been wrongfully convicted should be released, and the true cause of the Pilkhana massacre should be revealed. The masterminds and perpetrators of the killings should be identified and punished as an example.

4. Justice for the perpetrators of the murders of 57 army officers, 10 BDR members, and a total of 74 people in the Pilkhana massacre must be ensured. Additionally, the cause of death of every BDR member who died in jail should be revealed. If their deaths were unnatural, those responsible should be brought to justice.

5. The historic name of the BDR, which represents the glory of the country’s independence and sovereignty, will have to be restored.

6. A national day of remembrance for the martyrs of the Pilkhana massacre will have to be declared and the safety of the martyr families will have to be ensured.