President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said there will be no more “Aynaghar” in this independent Bangladesh. Whoever is involved in any act of enforced disappearance, no matter how powerful, will be brought to justice. They must receive the maximum punishment under the law.
The president made the remarks as chief guest at a discussion Sunday, August 30, at 11 a.m., organized by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs to mark “International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2026.”
He said: “Every avenue for the return of fascism to this country will be permanently closed. It is another sacred duty of the state to stand sincerely by the families of victims of enforced disappearance. I believe the government will take appropriate measures on this. No mother should have to weep for a child, no wife for a husband, ever again.”
The president said that during the fascist government’s rule over the past decade and a half, the agonizing grip of enforced disappearances and the secret detention center known as “Aynaghar” had tightened its hold on Bangladesh. Anyone who protested injustice, expressed dissent, or ever took part in a movement for democratic rights was abducted to be silenced, then forcibly disappeared or killed. Yet state institutions loyal to the fascists consistently denied this grave crime.
He said: “In the face of an unarmed uprising of students and the public, that fascism was forced to flee the country. Now is not the time for revenge, but for remedy — the real perpetrators must be brought under lawful punishment.”
The president said enforced disappearance does not simply take away a person. It takes away loved ones’ laughter, peace, dreams, and economic and social security. This is a heinous violation of human rights. Our constitution guarantees every citizen’s life, personal liberty, protection of law and human dignity. Through enforced disappearance and killing, effectively all of those rights are trampled at once.
The president described the terrifying environment created by the culture of enforced disappearance and killing established in the country as an extremely painful and shameful chapter in the nation’s history.
He then paid tribute to numerous dissidents, officials, writers, journalists, social workers, even housewives and ordinary citizens who were victims of enforced disappearance under the past fascist rule, including Ilias Ali, Chowdhury Alam, Sazedul Islam, Salahuddin Ahmed (the current home minister), Barrister Arman, and retired Lt. Gen. Azmi.
Recalling former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, the president said she had always spoken out against the fascist government’s enforced disappearances and killings, and believed that one day the trial for these disappearances, killings, torture and persecution would take place on Bangladeshi soil.
He also recalled BNP, Jamaat and all anti-fascist political parties, social forces, media, civil society and people from all walks of life, many of whom were themselves victims of enforced disappearance and killing.
The president said: “I believe the state’s duty does not end simply with punishing the perpetrators.” He called on the state to take responsibility for the dignity, social security, medical care, education, livelihood and rehabilitation of the families of victims of enforced disappearance.
He also paid respectful tribute to Sanjida Islam Tuli, who spoke out against enforced disappearance during the fascist era. He said: “We want a Bangladesh where there will be political differences, but no political vendetta. Where there will be freedom of expression, but no culture of fear. Where there will be law and order, but no scope to violate human rights and justice in the name of law. Where the state will have power, but that power will remain under the control of the constitution and the law.”
The president further said that alongside economic growth, how democratic and welfare-oriented a state is, how just and humane, and how safely and with what dignity its citizens live, are what truly reflect a state’s real development and success. He said building precisely such a new Bangladesh is what we are committed to.
The event, held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in the capital, was chaired by Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan. Special guests included Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, and State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain.
At the event, family members of various victims of enforced disappearance shared their remarks and demanded proper trials for these cases.