২০ আগষ্ট, ১৯৭১
The fate and real whereabouts of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who voluntarily allowed himself to be arrested on March 25 still remains shrouded in mystery. Although some questionable characters like Begum Akhtar Suleiman claimed to have visited him in prison, there has been not a single conclusive proof to date to suggest that he is still alive surviving the wrath of the psychopathic murderer Tikka Khan on the night of his arrest.
Contradictory reports deliberately leaked out by the sources close to the triggerhappy junta kept the world guessing helplessly until this day. The lone and intrinsically negative response that came from the junta's secretariat was a crude attempt at criticizing United Nations' Secretary General for his publicly expressed concern for the safety of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. U Thant and other world personalities considered the trial, whose verdict had been already pronounced by the prosecutor-cum-judge-cum-;executioner Yahya in so many of his interviews with foreign press, as yet another disgrace to civilized norms and sensibilities. Despite American and Chinese hacking of the junta U Thant failed to remain quiet this lime contrasting with his shocking silence [during the first week of Pakistani genocide in Bangladesh-a silence that encouraged the-bloodthirsty generals to go for Sheikh's life so blatantly. The reply from Pakistani foreign office had the audacity to point out to the Secretary General that he had remained silent over British massacres in Northern Ireland. By this the Pakistanis tried to convey that they too are entitled to all the United Nations inaction over their crimes in Bangladesh. Its sounds like a murderer defending himself citing another murderer who got away with his crimes. The attitude thus revealed shows the level of shamelessness to which these criminals in general's uniform capable of stooping.
Even greater an outrage is the fact that these children of Hitler and Marquis de Sade have so far been getting away with their criminal lunacies. Is the world so powerless to rid this planet of these ugly growths and make it a better place for human beings to live? Can the world powers, including China and USA, be so devoid of conscience, so blinded by petty national interests that they could go on playing either collaborators or silent onlookers of the crimes? Hasn't the Soviet Union a greater responsibility toward the people of Bangladesh and their undisputed leader than mere signing of treaties with third, fourth and fifth parties forgetting first party of the confrontation?
Let us assume that the murderers have still kept Sheikh Mujib just alive. I say just because according to another report Sheikh has been tortured-a fact that was responsible for his collapse in the courtroom of the so-called trial. Now, defying world condemnation, if Yahya proceeds to execute the leader what do the world powers propose J do? Will they do anything more meaningful than just words? This is the question that has been dominating the thoughts of the observers of the gruesome tragedy.
If the world thinks, just like the killers of Islamabad, that Sheikh's murder would cow the Bengali nation and solve the problem-it is indeed living in fool's paradise. Bangladesh is not Biafra or Congo-let us remind the great powers once again. The entire nation has been hit by an unjust and un-called for war by a vicious fanatical, feudalist and
