Mass Gathering at Altab Ali Park on March 25 Organised by Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee UK

On March 25, a mass gathering was held at the Shaheed Minar in Altab Ali Park, East London, organised by the UK chapter of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee. The event commemorated the martyrs of the 1971 genocide with the lighting of candles, a minute of silence, and the laying of floral wreaths at the memorial.

The gathering was presided over by the organisation’s president, renowned cultural activist and organiser Syed Enamul Islam, and conducted by General Secretary and journalist Juyel Raaj, The event began with a discussion session on the 1971 genocide, with participation from UK-based freedom fighters, and leaders and activists from various political, social, and cultural organizations supporting the spirit of the Liberation War, along with a large number of members from the British-Bangladeshi diaspora.

Among the speakers were central committee member Ansar Ahmed Ullah, vice-president Nilufa Hasan, former general secretaries Munira Parvin and Smriti Azad, Shahriar Bin Ali (assistant editor of the Communist Party of Bangladesh UK), Jamal Khan, Nazma Hossain, former president Syed Anas Pasha, former general secretary Syeda Nazneen Sultana Shikha, and freedom fighters Faizur Rahman Khan, Abu Musa Hasan, Lokman Hossain, and Dewan Gaus Sultan.

Also speaking at the event were Sheikh Nurul Islam, President of the Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi UK Chapter; Mujibul Haque Moni, Acting President of the UK chapter of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD); and Ahad Chowdhury, Organising Secretary of the UK Awami League.

A special poetry recitation was presented by poet Mahfuza Talukder in honour of the Biranganas (war heroines) of 1971, and patriotic songs were performed by singer Shatarupa Chowdhury. The program concluded with a collective rendition of the national anthem.

Speakers at the event strongly demanded international recognition of the Bangladesh Genocide of 1971 and called for continued trials of the Pakistani military and their local collaborators—Razakars and Al-Badr war criminals. They expressed grave concern over the current government's failure to officially observe March 25 as National Genocide Day, as well as the controversial appointment of a former defence lawyer of war criminals as Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.