AL to observe Aug 15 on a limited scale
Staff Correspondent
The Awami League (AL) will observe the 32nd death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman tomorrow on a limited scale in line with the caretaker government's directives. It has drawn up programmes to commemorate August 15, the day Bangabandhu and most of his family members were killed in 1975. President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed will visit Tungipara to offer special prayers at the grave of Bangabandhu on the day. The AL will keep the national and party flags at half-mast at its offices across the country. Besides, it will hoist black flags everywhere in observance of the day that used to be the national mourning day during its stay in power from 1996 to 2001. The BNP-led four-party alliance scrapped the day's official status after coming to power in October 2001. According to the AL programmes, floral wreaths will be placed at the portrait of Bangabandhu on Dhanmondi Road No. 32 at 8:00 and at the Banani graveyard at 8:30 in the morning. Special prayers will be arranged in mosques across the country and foods will be distributed among the flood victims. A delegation comprising AL leaders Col (retd) Faruq Khan and Abdul Latif Siddiqui will visit Tungipara and lay wreaths on Bangabandhu's grave. AL acting president Zillur Rahman and acting general secretary Mukul Bose have urged all to observe the day in a manner befitting the leader who steered the nation to independence. Meanwhile, the 'National Committee to Observe August 15' has requested the government for permission to hold discussion marking the death anniversary at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh on August 18. In a statement, Committee Coordinator Prof Anisuzzaman, Joint Coordinators Ramendu Majumder, Nasiruddin Yusuf and Member Secretary Golam Kuddus yesterday expressed concern that they have yet to get a response to their application to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner. The application for permission was submitted on August 2. When the chief adviser and chief of army staff have said they want Bangabandhu to be officially recognised as the father of nation, their sincerity would come into question if a non-political organisation is not allowed to hold the discussion, they said in the statement.
| 
