Causeway Bay Books incident was a harbinger of regime's security-first principle. Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize. Is China heading toward a more open economy? Or does it want to prioritize national security? This is probably the most difficult conundrum global investors face when considering today's China. While the communist regime advocates a "high-standard opening-up" of the economy to achieve a 5% growth target, it is also pushing to realize Chinese-style national security, saying that "political security" and "regime security" take precedence over other policies, including economic ones. The fact that President Xi Jinping's two close aides are in charge of the economy and security -- two contradictory initiatives -- further confuses the matter. Premier Li Qiang has the economic portfolio while Cai Qi is the security czar. If there is a clue to understanding the mixed messages, it lies in Hong Kong, in the changes the metropolis has gone through during the past decade under Xi, an expert on the policies and history of the city says. Hong Kong prospered thanks to its atmosphere of freedom and "common law" system that functioned under China's "one country, two systems" formula. The city has brought huge wealth to mainland China too. Its freedoms, however, are disappearing. In 2019, before COVID-19 began to spread, about 1 million people took to the streets of Hong Kong for an unprecedented demonstration against the local government's extradition bill. The following year, the Xi administration swiftly enacted and enforced the Hong Kong national security law. Expanding on that Beijing-imposed law, Hong Kong authorities last month put the administrative region's own national security law, known as Article 23, into force mere days after the city's lawmakers passed it. The controversial law promises to crack down on espionage, the theft of state secrets, treason, sedition and foreign forces' interference in national security. At issue is that these transgressions can be broadly defined. Compared with the massive demonstration in 2019, the enforcement of Article 23 last month received less international media coverage. It is a law that Hong Kong citizens have been strongly opposing for decades. In 2003, about 500,000 people gathered to demonstrate against attempts to pass the law. The enforcement of Article 23 was the final nail in the coffin of media freedom in Hong Kong. U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia has already announced the closure of its Hong Kong bureau due to safety concerns under the new law. What should be recalled here is an incident that took place in Hong Kong nearly 10 years ago. In late 2015, five people associated with Causeway Bay Books -- a bookstore that published and sold books critical of the Chinese Communist Party and the Xi administration -- disappeared one after another. The five -- four Hong Kongers and one Swedish national born in China -- were later found to have been detained by Chinese authorities. The Swedish national was abducted from a Thai resort. The "disappearances" came despite Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" model. It is less ironic that they also took place after the mainland established its national security legislation. Looking back, the incident was the beginning of the end to a free Hong Kong. The goose that laid golden eggs was being killed, significantly impacting not only Hong Kong's economy but also mainland China's in the years to come. The loss of freedom has forced economic and psychological adjustments on Hong Kongers, many of whom have decided to pull up roots. Some are visiting the reborn Causeway Bay Books, in central Taipei. The original Causeway Bay Books was forced to close years ago. Store manager Lam Wing-kee, who was among the 2015 abductees, later migrated to Taiwan. He reopened Causeway Bay Books there in 2020. Among his frequent visitors is a married couple in their 30s and 40s who recently migrated from Hong Kong to New Taipei City, a residential area adjacent to Taipei. "Chatting and exchanging views with Lam and others that gather here is our joy of life in Taiwan," they said. With no restriction on freedom of speech, the store is crammed with all genres of material, including works critical of the mainland's communist regime and photo archives of the Hong Kong demonstrations. It is the kind of haven that no longer exists in Hong Kong. Advocating a comprehensive national security concept, the Xi administration in 2014 established an anti-espionage law and then in 2015 a national security law, putting political, economic and social activity under a national security umbrella. The moves might have appeared quite abrupt. But there was an important albeit overlooked sign at a Communist Party meeting held in November 2013, a year after Xi took the party's helm as its general secretary. Just as the meeting -- the third plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee -- closed, a surprise announcement was made through the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The international audience was waiting for the meeting's communique that would reveal the Xi administration's mid- and long-term economic policies. But instead, state media broke the news that a decision had been made to establish the National Security Commission. As no detailed explanation was given about the commission, the announcement was not well understood. But looking back now, it was a harbinger of the Xi administration's national security-first principle. The full name of the new organization -- the National Security Commission of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party -- showed that the commission was under the direct control of the Central Committee. The name was made known in January 2014. Xi was the head, while Cai was tapped as the de facto top official in charge of managing the commission. At the time, no one within the party could have predicted Cai would rise through the ranks to become a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee. The National Security Commission has since acted as China's command center, not only for national security-related legislation but also for moves to deprive Hong Kong of freedoms. The unprecedented incidents involving Causeway Bay Books were just waiting to happen. The ultimate goal of the national security-first principle is to ensure "political security" and "regime security." In other words, the goal is to secure the current communist regime led by Xi. In a sense, even the Causeway Bay Books crackdown was meant to ensure the Xi administration's security. But to maintain that security, something had to be done about China's limit of two five-year terms for presidents. "Something" turned out to be an abruptly announced revision to the national constitution in 2018, scrapping the term limit. In October 2022, Xi secured an unprecedented third five-year term as party general secretary. Work had already begun around 2015 to pave the way for his extended reign. In 2023, China's revised anti-espionage law took effect. The definition of espionage can be interpreted broadly, and it is unclear what activity might lead one to be accused of a crime. Charging one with espionage seems to be at the discretion of authorities. Foreign companies operating in China are thus at the mercy of these authorities, never knowing if one of their executives or employees might be detained, when or for what reason. But with Xi's national security-first principle and Hong Kong prosperity unable to coexist, the city is reaching a tipping point, with businesses and citizens trying to get out from under the heavy pressure weighing on them. A number of foreign companies have scaled back their operations in Hong Kong, relocating to Singapore and other hubs. Many Hong Kongers are also decamping to the U.K., Taiwan, Canada and Japan. The exodus of business operations and anxious citizens has also affected Hong Kong's property market. A similar trend is also happening in mainland China. Hong Kong's current situation shows how contradictory China's economic policies are. By looking through the prism of Hong Kong, one can gain a hint of what Chinese leaders in Beijing are thinking.   Source: NIKKI ASIA

Anti-cultist Steven Hassan and fellow travelers of the Chinese Communist Party, joined forces against the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance summit—and our magazine. From November 28 to 30, Prague hosted the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) conference, which followed similar inter-ministerial meetings in Washington DC and London. It was hailed throughout the democratic world as one of the largest and most successful gathering of governments to promote freedom of religion or belief and denounce its violations.    As reported on the website of the U.S. Department of State, IRFBA gathers 37 countries, with others in process of joining and five participating as “friends.” The United Nations attends IRFBA meetings as an “observer” through the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Not surprisingly, China was mentioned in the Prague meeting as the first country in the sad list of those violating religious liberty  Contrasting with the international acclaim for such a massive effort to promote religious liberty, a tiny group of pro-China activists met in Brussels on November 22 to denounce the IRFBA conference even before it started. They organized a hybrid seminar called “Misuse Freedom of Religion—SECTS—Twisted Belief—Destructive Cults—Pseudo FORB” (capitals in the original).   The seminar was presented on Facebook as featuring presentations “by Steven Hassan, Sven Aerts & Roland Delcour [sic].” Readers of “Bitter Winter” probably have heard of two of these three characters. Steven Hassan, a former American deprogrammer, is one of the most fanatical international anti-cultists. Roland Delcourt is a Belgian journalist who also spells his own last name Delcour, Delacore, and Delacourt, perhaps because he machine-translates articles written by his Chinese handlers without even re-reading them. Delcourt is married to a Chinese and has lived in Shenzhen for “at least 20 years.” He gives interviews and writes propaganda letters in favor of the CCP that are published in the Chinese regime’s official organs, including the People’s Daily and the news agency Xinhua.    Delcourt is also a “cyberwarrior” and posts on social media to defend the CCP, with a language that parrots, but goes beyond, the “wolf warrior” Chinese diplomats. For instance, he likes to play on the phonetic similarity between “Biden” and the French word “bidon” (phony), and calls the U.S. President, when he criticizes China, “a false democrat,” “the Yankee Gauleiter” (suggesting a comparison with Nazi war criminals), and “the cholera (as Trump was the plague).” Delcourt was also involved in an unfortunate story about producing a false document against Chinese asylum seekers in Europe.   Delcourt protesting on Facebook Biden’s visit to Belgium and a Belgian Parliament’s vote condemning China’s genocide of the Uyghurs: “We know that the visit of the Yankee Gauleiter, a false democrat, is to unite the vassals of the United States in a fight against China.” The third promoter of the hybrid seminar, Sven Aerts, appears to be active in various capacities in Brussels, inter alia as representative of the European Spas Association, no doubt a worthy and useful organization. The problem is that Aerts is also chairman of something called FAE-FAE, the Federation of Asian Communities in Europe. If one looks at its Facebook page, it would seem that one of the activities of FAE-FAE is promoting overweight escorts, but we all know that social media pages can be hacked. However, we have been watching the FAE-FAE Facebook profile for a while and would respectfully recommend to Aerts some housekeeping. It gives a strange impression to see the fat escorts’ promotion messages alternating with defenses of China and other Asian governments and attacks against “cults” and FoRB-promoting organization, including “Bitter Winter.”   Be it as it may be, we learn from the press release of the November 22 event that it was opened by Aerts, who attacked the Prague intergovernmental IRFBA meeting on these terms: “These pseudo FORB Summits are known to experts. They are clever propaganda manipulations, utilizing paper tigers, funnels, logical fallacies, making you look in one direction to get something at an entirely other side and hiding in plain sight. A very easy way to see if one has to deal with them is to observe their reaction when one intends to send some independent journalists who are not on the pre-approved list or real experts such as Dr. Steven HASSAN.” We understand that Hassan’s name deserves to be written in full capital, and he also spoke at the Brussels anti-IRFBA event via the Internet. Perhaps it was an opportunity to promote Aerts too from an expert on spas to an expert on religious liberty and “cults.”   It is unclear whether the following statement in the press release summarizes Hassan’s remarks or is a conclusion by the organizers, but it shows a curious idea of religious liberty: “The United States in opposition to many European member countries has a total absence of agency regulating beliefs and undoubtedly set a bad example for the world as it has for long allowed the development and growth of cults and various emerging new religious groups.” An “agency regulating beliefs” of course only exists in totalitarian countries or in Orwell’s novels, although the French MIVILUDES tries its best to approach the Orwellian model.   Hassan was certainly not ashamed of joining forces with the pro-China crowd, as he posted on Facebook about the event: “I am looking forward to having the opportunity of sharing my life work with those in Europe looking to better understand how destructive cults are using ‘religious freedom’ to deny people religious freedom.” His fellows travelers, however, were not there to “understand destructive cults” but to protect Chinese interests and badmouth in advance a high-level international meeting expected to condemn China. Steven Hassan’s Facebook post on the Brussels event. He even received one like. Delcourt also spoke, and a certain “Mr. Lacroix, a Belgian independent writer,” confirmed that “we do not advocate to vigorously promoting the so-called freedom of religious belief”—not that anybody had ever accused them of such advocacy—and rather called for more “political control” of religion.  The event left to us at “Bitter Winter” a certain expression of déja vu. Aerts, Delcourt, and Lacroix also spoke at the Brussels event launching the bizarre pro-Chinese “documentary movie” against “Bitter Winter.” From recent propaganda of the movie on Chinese media, we learn that at the event “Aerts introduced Steven Hassan,” but it is unclear whether he attended via video or his theories were just summarized.  We exposed a few days ago the ridiculous lies of the so-called documentary. I would just add here three lighter notes. The first is that one of the speakers at the launching of the anti-Bitter-Winter movie was Anne-Catherine Girard, from Reconquête-Benelux, a branch of the French extreme right and Islamophobic party Reconquête. She was an interesting speaker at an event accusing (falsely) “Bitter Winter” of promoting right-wing policies. A proposal by Reconquête-Benelux: “Abolish welfare benefits (family allowances, housing subsidies, RSA, etc.) and free healthcare (AME, etc.) for foreigners.” From X. These are the people accusing “Bitter Winter” of supporting “right-wing policies”—really? Second, whoever wrote the press release of the anti-Bitter-Winter event included the statement that “The Church of Almighty God is a ‘Cult’ that for most first appeared in the media due to its tentacular influence in the Japanese government and its direct link with the assassination of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shizo [sic] Abe.” It seems that the “world leading experts on cults” who organized the event confused The Church of Almighty God, a Chinese movement that has nothing to do with Japanese politics, with the Unification Church/Family Federation. The latter’s “link” with the killing of Shinzo Abe was that the killer hated the Unification Church and wanted to punish Abe for being sympathetic to it. Third, somebody brought to my attention that an occasionally funny but not particularly bright anti-cultist who sits in the board of the notorious anti-cult organization FECRIS some time ago wrote that “doubts about the reliability of ‘Bitter Winter’ have also been expressed by sources completely unconnected with the Chinese government, which may have an advantage in discrediting the magazine. For example… the FAE-FAE Federation of Asian Communities in Europe, which produced a video on the subject.” The FAE-FAE “completely unconnected with the Chinese government”? Funny, in fact—but not bright.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an annual address from the Red Fort in Delhi to mark India's 77th Independence Day on Tuesday.  He spoke of a new era of abundance. He said the government will take several decisions in the near future which will influence the next 1,000 years for the country.  "Today we have demography, today we have democracy and we have diversity," he said, adding that they are the key instruments for India's future. He lauded his government for carrying out several reforms in the last nine years of his leadership. What else did Modi speak about in his address? Modi also addressed the racial violence in the northeastern state of Manipur, saying that many people have lost their lives and women raped in the last four months. He said that peace has returned to the state over last few days and hoped for its continuance.  "The path for solution in Manipur will be found through peace. The central and state government are making all efforts for a solution. We will continue to do so," he said. Other topics Modi spoke about included agricultural advancement, digital transformation and the need to prioritize the nation on the global stage. The speech takes center stage ahead of the general elections coming up in mid-2024. The national capital saw tightened security in the days before the event with over 1,000 surveillance cameras, anti-drone technology and over 10,000 police officers deployed across Delhi.  Independence Day tradition in India on the eve of India's independence from British rule — the nation's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, hoisted the national flag from the Red Fort in Delhi followed by the famous speech known as "Tryst with Destiny." Since then, every year the Indian flag is unfurled at the fort. Modi is the 13th prime minister to give an Independence Day speech at the historical fort. He paid homage to the country's freedom fighters on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, reaffirming the "commitment to fulfilling their vision." Freedom from British rule The East India Company took control of the nation in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey. Nearly two centuries later, the "Quit India Movement" resulted in the British leaving the country in 1947. Independence came at the price of partition — with the creation of two countries, India and Pakistan —  which resulted in widespread rioting and massacres, which continue to haunt both countries until today. Across India, the day is celebrated with local flag ceremonies, cultural programs, and songs which commemorate the freedom fighters of India.

The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) has expressed deep concern over the killing of journalist Golam Rabbani Nadeem, the correspondent of Banglanews24.com from Jamalpur district, and the correspondent of Ekattor TV from Bakshiganj Upazila. On Thursday, June 22, in a statement sent to the media, the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) remarked this concern.  The Embassies/High Commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States signed the statement. The statement mentioned, "We, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) in Bangladesh, are deeply concerned at the deadly June 15 attack on Golam Rabbani Nadeem, the Jamalpur district correspondent of BanglaNews24.com and the Bakshiganj upazila correspondent of Ekattor TV.   We offer our sincerest condolences to his family and friends.  We are encouraged to learn that authorities have taken action by arresting the suspected perpetrators of the killing and by initiating legal proceedings.   Journalists play a vital role in asking difficult questions, reporting the facts, and promoting the free flow of ideas.   The Media Freedom Coalition calls on all in positions of influence in Bangladeshi society to speak up for press freedom, the right of journalists to work without fear of retribution or harm, and the need to hold to account those responsible for attacks on journalists."

Why are hundreds of thousands of Russians allowing themselves to be sent off as cannon fodder in this criminal war of aggression? Why are they placing their fate in the hands of a warmonger? Why don't they rebel? Most people outside Russia can't answer these questions. It seems that Russians are prepared to allow anything. Commentators resort to stereotypes about the supposed national character: Russians are forbearing, they've always obeyed whichever tsar was in the Kremlin, or they're afraid of freedom, as Russia author Fyodor Dostoyevsky once wrote. It is true that rebelling is dangerous right now. Anyone in Russia who stands up for freedom risks imprisonment and torture. But these consequences also threaten demonstrators in Iran— yet over the past weeks, thousands of people there have taken to the streets to protest the mullahs' brutal regime. Dozens have already paid with their lives. But those who manage to escape the Iranian police seem undeterred. They continue to protest, although the slaughterers in Tehran and other Iranian cities are no less brutal than the OMON [special riot police] in Moscow. Lukanshenko will fall without Putin's protection The world is following the Iranians' courageous protests with admiration — just as millions of people everywhere paid tribute to the courage of Belarusians two years ago, when they revolted against Lukashenko's rigged elections, or to Ukrainians, who fought repeatedly for democracy. In Ukraine, the people prevailed. In Belarus, they haven't yet. But when Russian President Vladimir Putin is no longer able to protect him, Belarusians will drag Lukashenko to trial. It is nonsense to claim that Russians are unsuited to democracy. Reference is often made to surveys which claim that around one in three Russians believe "Western democracy isn't suited to Russia." Those who think this way, if any do, are the older generation. They have never spent much time in the West. The younger generation, on the other hand, is as open-minded as their peers in Paris or London. Young Russians want freedom, real democracy, prosperity, the opportunity to travel. It is also nonsense to claim, as leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church have done, that democracy supposedly undermines morality. The opposite is true. Only courts that are independent of the state provide justice for all, no matter how good or bad their personal relationships with politicians may be. In today's Russia however, the Kremlin decides what the verdict should be when demonstrators are brought to trial. Russia's judges are the henchmen of power. In stable democracies, corruption and cronyism don't stand a chance. The trauma of the 1990s The 1990s are cited as another reason why many older Russians are skeptical about democracy. But what Russians had to endure back then had nothing to do with democracy. Rather, after 1991, the old Soviet elites — former party functionaries and secret service members — indulged in self-enrichment at the public's expense. Then they were able to control the country's politics with their mountains of cash. Yet Ukrainians and Georgians went through this in the 1990s too. Oligarchs also had tremendous influence in Kyiv, but Ukrainians still managed to vote governments in and out of office. Gradually their standard of living improved. The country developed into a model, showing what Russia could be, and in doing so, became a threat to Putin. It was suddenly clear that democracy and freedom were also possible in the East. Ukrainians will continue to fight for their country. They don't want to live in an authoritarian state. They are united by their enormous sacrifice and their war of defense against Russia will shape them for generations. If the citizens of Russia also want a decent life, in freedom and prosperity, then they too will have to fight for it. Just as the people of other nations have done.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today (Saturday) said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam actually insulted the glory of valiant women freedom fighters and sacrifice of all war heroes by calling his party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia a freedom fighter. He said this in a statement condemning and protesting Mirza Fakhrul’s comments published and aired in different print and electronic media. Quader, also road transport and bridges minister, said BNP, which is engaged in their traditional evil politics of falsehood, is continuously spreading propaganda in a purposeful way. Mentioning that anti-liberation evil forces are key forces of BNP, he said dubbing Khaleda as a female freedom fighter by Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is a cock and bull story. “I hope BNP leaders will refrain from making such fabricated stories. They should realize that people repeatedly boycotted them due to their involvement in arrogant activities like distortion of the history of the Liberation War,” he said. He said Mirza Fakhrul and other BNP leaders are now talking about money laundering. The people know who the kingpins of money laundering are and who looted and laundered crores of money by creating Hawa Bhaban.   Bangladesh became world champions in corruption when BNP was in power but they are now talking about money laundering, he said, adding that such acts of BNP are nothing but ‘the devil listening to the Scriptures’. Source: BSS AH

The government has published names of 1 lakh 47 thousand 537 valiant freedom fighters at the first phase. Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque published the list at press conference at the secretariat on Thursday on the eve of golden jubilee of independence. The minister said, we are working in the proper process from the grass roots level through investigation. We have published the list containing 1,47,537 names of valiant freedom fighters at the first phase of the final list. According to the list there are 12563 names from Barishal division, 30053 names from Chattogram, 37387 names from Dhaka, 10588 names from Mymensingh, 17630 names from Khulna, 13889 names from Rajshahi, 15158 names from Rangpur and 10264 names from Sylhet division including the names of four national leaders and father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He also said, the names which are in the civilian list will not be published in the mean time. Besides, the names which are under scrutiny without recommendation from JaMuKa are not mentioned in the list. According to the ministry sources, the list of the valiant freedom fighters has been published for the sixth phase in the 50th year’s celebration of independence. Earlier the governments which were in power published the list of freedom fighters according to their way. Though the controversy is not over but again another list is being published. On November 19 last year a scrutiny committee was formed comprising researchers, valiant freedom fighters and officers of liberation war affairs ministry to formulate the list of martyred freedom fighters. Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Secretary of liberation war affairs ministry was made chairman of the committee. AH           

The ministry of liberation war affairs has published the draft list of one lakh 80 thousand freedom fighters. If there is any objection about the draft list then the ministry would publish the final list after scrutiny. According to the concerned ministry source, to avert any kind of mistake the ministry has published the draft list through online for scrutiny. Any name of the great freedom fighter will be out of the coverage of scrutiny if it is recognized in the Indian list or Lal Muktibarta or by the proof of 33 categories by the ministry. The new names included in the list will be under scrutiny. Earlier, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said, the draft list of the freedom fighters will be published on February 15 and the final list will be published on the Independence Day. The scrutiny process is going on after including one lakh 40 thousand freedom fighters in the list at the upazila level. In this time 15 thousand names could be increased including the martyrs, wounded, title recipients and Birangana freedom fighters. The government has taken initiative to publish a full-fledged list of freedom fighters. Now civilian gazettes have been scrutinized apart from the approval of Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (JaMuKa) as part of publishing the list of freedom fighters. AH         

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Monday) announced that the minimum monthly allowances of the valiant freedom fighters will be raised to Taka 20,000 from the existing Taka 12,000. “I think the current monthly allowance of Taka 12,000 is not enough. . . We will increase the amount to Taka 20,000 bringing the lower slots at one place,” the premier made the announcement while inaugurating the online disbursement of freedom fighters’ allowances. The premier joined the inauguration ceremony virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban. The programme was held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium. The electronic fund transfer (Government to Person- G2P) using Management Information System (MIS) will allow the freedom fighters to get their allowances directly to their bank accounts. Sheikh Hasina said the government has introduced this G2P system for freedom fighters’ allowance as the gift of Mujib Borsha. She said from now on, the freedom fighters would receive their allowances directly. Earlier, the freedom fighters used to receive the allowance after every three months through upazila and district level authorities. Regarding the hike of allowances, the Prime Minister said the government needs some time to allocate money for this purpose in the national budget. Hasina said, adding, “But, we will surely do it.” Currently, the families of martyred war heroes are getting Taka 30,000 per month while that of war-wounded ones Taka 25,000. Besides, the families of Bir Shreshtha, the highest gallantry award winners in the War of Liberation, are getting Taka 35,000 while the Bir Uttam are receiving Taka 25,000. In addition, Bir Bikram and Bir Pratik gallantry award winners are receiving Taka 20,000 and Taka 15,000 respectively, while the rest of the freedom fighters are receiving Taka 12,000 per month as honorarium. The Prime Minister noted that except for Bir Shreshtha and Bir Uttam, it is better to bring all the lower three slots at one place because all had participated in the Liberation War. The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs and Bangladesh Muktijoddha Kalyan Trust together will fix it, she added. Liberation war affairs minister A K M Mozammel Haque and secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh also spoke on the occasion. Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Secretary Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the event. An audio-visual presentation on the War of Liberation and freedom fighters was screened at the outset of the ceremony. At the function, it was revealed that a total of 205,198 freedom fighters and their families have been receiving allowances, and in the last five years Taka 17,000 crore has been spent for freedom fighters’ allowances and others. Now freedom fighters are receiving two festival allowances and Boishakhi allowance alongside monthly allowance. The freedom fighters who are alive, are also receiving victory day allowance. The Awami League government after assuming power in 1996 had introduced a monthly allowance of Taka 300 for destitute freedom fighters. Freedom fighters from Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur district, Fulbari upazila of Kurigram district, Paikegachha upazila of Khulna district, Haimchar upazila of Chandpur district and Borolekha upazila of Moulavibazar district were connected virtually at the function. They expressed their gratitude and feelings after getting the allowance directly to their bank accounts. Source: BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday greeted all Freedom Fighters (FFs) of the country on the occasion of the 50th Victory Day. Like previous years, the Prime Minister sent flowers, fruits and sweetmeats to the Freedom Fighters at Martyred and War-wounded Freedom Fighters’ Rehabilitation Centre (Muktijoddha Tower-1) on Gaznavi Road at Mohammadpur in the city as a mark of her good wishes for them. Officials of the Prime Minister’s Office, Assistant Private Secretary (APS) Gazi Hafizur Rahman Liku and Assistant Press Secretary ABM Sarwer-E-Alom Sarker handed over these items to the FFs. The Freedom Fighters thanked and expressed their gratitude to the Prime Minister for remembering them on every national day and festival like the Independence Day, Victory Day, Eid and Pahela Baishakh. They also wished Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina good health and a long life. The nation is celebrating the Victory Day on Wednesday marking the most precious day when the country was liberated from the Pakistani occupation forces after a nine-month-long War of Liberation. Freedom Fighters and their family members expressed grave concern for the recent incident of defacing of Bangabandhu's sculpture. They vowed to resist terrorist acts in the name of religion and anti-state activities at any cost on the soil of independent Bangladesh. They urged the successors of Freedom Fighters and future generation to led this movement. Bangladesh achieved its much-coveted independence with the sacrifice of three million lives and honours of hundreds of thousands of women. Millions were displaced and forced to flee to neighbouring India during the war. Marking the Victory Day, the Prime Minister in a message said: "This Bangladesh is the country of Lalon Shah, Rabindranath, Kazi Nazrul, Jibanananda ... this Bangladesh is the Bangladesh of Shahjalal, Shah Poran, Shah Mokdum, Khanjahan Ali, this Bangladesh is the Bangladesh of Sheikh Mujib and 16.5 crores of Bangalees – this country is for all. We won’t allow anyone to create any division and anarchy in the name of religion." She mentioned that Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. This country achieved its independence in lieu of the blood of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhas and Christians. "The people of the country will move on towards prosperity, progress and development keeping the religious morale high," she said. Source: UNB AH