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BNP Standing Committee Member and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said those who were forcibly disappeared in the past had to live every moment fearing death, while their families endured unimaginable uncertainty and anguish.
He said the “fascist” Awami League government killed more than 2,000 people during the July mass uprising and made many bodies disappear.
“We believe that through these actions, the Awami League suffered its political death in Dhaka, while its burial took place in Delhi,” he said.
Salahuddin made the remarks at an event marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances at the China Friendship International Conference Centre in the capital on Sunday (August 30).
President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir attended the event as the chief guest. Families of victims of enforced disappearance were also present.
Recalling his own experience of enforced disappearance, the home minister said no one could understand the mental anguish suffered by the wife of missing BNP leader Ilias Ali or the mother of Sajedul Islam Suman. Likewise, he said, no one could fully understand what his own wife and children went through.
Salahuddin said data from various agencies during the Awami League government showed that 709 people had been forcibly disappeared, of whom 155 later returned. During the previous interim government, 1,850 applications were submitted concerning enforced disappearances.
“We believe such disappearances and killings were never part of the spirit of the Great Liberation War,” he said, adding that although some people, including Brigadier Azmi, returned, they did not find some of their family members.
Regarding deaths during the July mass uprising, Salahuddin said a UN fact-finding report estimated that around 1,400 people were killed. However, he claimed the actual number exceeded 2,000.
He attributed the discrepancy to the alleged disappearance and burning of many bodies.