A rally, discussion and floral tribute programme was held in Gaibandha on Friday to protect the killing ground where martyrs of the Liberation War lie buried.

The programme was organised under the slogan, “On this soil rest thousands of freedom fighters,” and took place at the killing ground adjacent to the Gaibandha Stadium in the morning.

Organised by the Gaibandha District Killing Ground Preservation Council, the programme began with a rally from the Liberation War Victory Monument Square. Men and women committed to the spirit of the Liberation War joined the procession, which paraded through the town before ending at the stadium-area killing ground.

A discussion followed, chaired by veteran journalist Gobinda Lal Das. Speakers included Bir Muktijoddha and former unit commander Abdul Kader, journalists Siddiq Alam Dayal, lawyers Ashraf Ali, Nilufar Yasmin Shilpi and Kasem Yazbi, politicians Ahsan Habib Sayeed and Kazi Abu Raheen Shafiullah, poet Nasrin Rekha, dramatist and poet Shahnaz Amin Munni, and council member secretary Advocate Mostafa Moniruzzaman, among others.

The speakers alleged that during the rule of the previous “fascist” government, several killing grounds in Gaibandha, including the main one, were illegally occupied. They claimed that attempts were made to erase the spirit of the Liberation War by setting up sawmills, liquor shops and other structures on these historic sites.

They stressed the need to protect the killing grounds and pass on the history and spirit of the Liberation War to future generations, calling for the building of a new Bangladesh rooted in the ideals of 1971.