Thursday, December 17, 2015
Yemen crisis: Saudi-led coalition 'targeting' schools
Air strikes carried out by Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen have targeted schools that were still in use, Amnesty International has said.
The rights group accused the coalition of violating international law and disrupting the education of more than 6,500 children.
It said the US and UK should suspend the sale of arms used in such attacks.
The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in Yemen in March against Houthi rebels who toppled the government.
Saudi Arabia has previously denied that it targeted civilian infrastructure.
In its report, Amnesty International cited five air strikes between August and October this year on schools in Yemen, which it said killed five civilians and injured at least 14 people, including four children.
Pupils were not in the schools at the time of the strikes.
More than 1,000 schools have either been destroyed, damaged or are occupied by displaced people, according to data from the Sanaa-based Ministry of Education released by Amnesty.
"Deliberately attacking schools that are not military objectives and directly attacking civilians not participating in hostilities are war crimes," said Lama Fakih, a senior crisis adviser with the group.
EPA
Amnesty also claimed that:
- one school in Sanaa that had 1,200 students was bombed four times in a few weeks
- damage caused by the bombings that it investigated have "severely disrupted" the education of more than 6,500 children in three governorates
- although some schools in Yemen had been used for military purposes, it said there was no evidence of any of the schools it cites having been used in this way
At least 34% of Yemeni children have not returned to school since the conflict escalated in March, according to Unicef.
Amnesty said the attacks on schools highlighted "the urgent need" for arms suppliers, including the US and UK, to suspend the transfer of weapons being used against civilians by Saudi Arabia and other coalition members.
These include bombs, fighter jets and combat helicopters, Amnesty International said.
It called arms transfers "appalling" in light of evidence of international law violations in Yemen by coalition forces.
A UK government spokeswoman said it took reports of alleged air strikes on schools "very seriously".
The British Ministry of Defence flagged up allegations of international humanitarian law violations to Saudi Arabia, the spokeswoman said, adding that the UK "received assurances that they are complying" with those laws.
UN-sponsored peace talks on Yemen will take place in Switzerland next week. Amnesty has called for an independent investigation into the air strikes.
SAUDI ARABIA’S FAKE WAR ON TERROR
The House of Saud would like us to believe it has forged a military coalition compromised of 34 Islamic nations to fight terrorism in the Middle East!
Without mentioning how the coordination would be carried out or what happened to the previous counter-ISIL coalition led by the United States, Riyadh claims its more-fictional-than-real coalition will take on ISIL (Daesh) and “any terrorist organization that appears in front of us.”
This is far-fetched. The powerful reality is that Riyadh is using the fake war against the notorious Daesh as a smokescreen with contradictory ambitions. The whole idea is to roll back Iran and Russia, preserve the status quo, and in pursuit of these, depose elected governments and impose others in their place to suit the War Party’s geopolitical ambitions.
More so, there is much talk about how this fake anti-terror coalition is a "game-changer," and how this is a clear escalation of the much ballyhooed, but more fictional than real, Saudi-led war on Daesh - the terror organization that Riyadh and US intelligence welcomed and bankrolled as a “positive development” in 2012 in their continued attempts to instigate regime change in Damascus.
Lest we forget, after “democratising” the failed state of Libya with deadly consequences, the regime changers upped the stakes by bombing Syria, a bandit diktat without Security Council authorization and on the phony pretext of fighting Daesh. Now the regime changers would like us to believe they are going after their own creation in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – something that the US and NATO armies failed to achieve after spending trillions of dollars and more than 14 years of war and occupation.
Which explains why for all appearance, Riyadh’s anti-terror plot is entirely based on false premises. While the House of Saud is spreading lies that the Syrian Army is attacking civilians, facts on the ground indicate that the Russian-led alliance of Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are the only shield to protect Syrians against the so-called "relatively moderate" head choppers sponsored and trained by Riyadh, Washington, Qatar and rogue NATO partners.
Ultimately though, by forging a fake anti-terror coalition, the House of Saud and the mere extras are only fooling themselves. The War Party and Riyadh, their rogue NATO partners, and other allies bear full responsibility for the ongoing wave of violence and terrorism in the region and beyond.
Any decent human being will express doubts over the Saudi-led - or the US-led - coalition's "firm intention" to eradicate the ruthless Daesh and other death cults. In reality, the latest pretext, Daesh, was created as a secret army and to this day perpetuated by the War Party, Saudi Arabia and the minions to destabilize the Muslim world. For this, the terrorist outfit is incapable of sourcing the weapons, cash and fighters alone, and admittedly receives them through the Turkish, Jordanian, Saudi and Israeli borders.
At the end of the day, the impression becomes unavoidable that were Riyadh and its rogue partners serious about ending the Daesh menace, their first order of business should be to stop harbouring the terrorist goons in their territory and stop being the virtual port-of-call for all foreign jihadists from across the world seeking to join the “American Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
This is far-fetched. The powerful reality is that Riyadh is using the fake war against the notorious Daesh as a smokescreen with contradictory ambitions. The whole idea is to roll back Iran and Russia, preserve the status quo, and in pursuit of these, depose elected governments and impose others in their place to suit the War Party’s geopolitical ambitions.
More so, there is much talk about how this fake anti-terror coalition is a "game-changer," and how this is a clear escalation of the much ballyhooed, but more fictional than real, Saudi-led war on Daesh - the terror organization that Riyadh and US intelligence welcomed and bankrolled as a “positive development” in 2012 in their continued attempts to instigate regime change in Damascus.
Lest we forget, after “democratising” the failed state of Libya with deadly consequences, the regime changers upped the stakes by bombing Syria, a bandit diktat without Security Council authorization and on the phony pretext of fighting Daesh. Now the regime changers would like us to believe they are going after their own creation in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – something that the US and NATO armies failed to achieve after spending trillions of dollars and more than 14 years of war and occupation.
Which explains why for all appearance, Riyadh’s anti-terror plot is entirely based on false premises. While the House of Saud is spreading lies that the Syrian Army is attacking civilians, facts on the ground indicate that the Russian-led alliance of Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are the only shield to protect Syrians against the so-called "relatively moderate" head choppers sponsored and trained by Riyadh, Washington, Qatar and rogue NATO partners.
Ultimately though, by forging a fake anti-terror coalition, the House of Saud and the mere extras are only fooling themselves. The War Party and Riyadh, their rogue NATO partners, and other allies bear full responsibility for the ongoing wave of violence and terrorism in the region and beyond.
Any decent human being will express doubts over the Saudi-led - or the US-led - coalition's "firm intention" to eradicate the ruthless Daesh and other death cults. In reality, the latest pretext, Daesh, was created as a secret army and to this day perpetuated by the War Party, Saudi Arabia and the minions to destabilize the Muslim world. For this, the terrorist outfit is incapable of sourcing the weapons, cash and fighters alone, and admittedly receives them through the Turkish, Jordanian, Saudi and Israeli borders.
At the end of the day, the impression becomes unavoidable that were Riyadh and its rogue partners serious about ending the Daesh menace, their first order of business should be to stop harbouring the terrorist goons in their territory and stop being the virtual port-of-call for all foreign jihadists from across the world seeking to join the “American Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/saudi-arab/item/20153-saudi-arabia-s-fake-war-on-terror
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Islamic military alliance’ against terrorism makes no sense
By Adam Taylor
This week, Saudi Arabia announced that it was forming a new “Islamic military alliance" devoted to fighting global terrorism. The plan stemmed from the "keenness of the Muslim world to fight this disease, which affected the Islamic world first, before the international community as a whole," Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman told reporters during a rare news conference.
In many ways, this alliance seems designed to calm Western critics who have frequently complained that the Muslim world isn't doing enough to combat terrorism and extremism. However, the details of the planned alliance are more than a little unclear and have left some scratching their heads, unsure who exactly is in the alliance and what it is actually designed to do.
And as you can see, much of the reaction on social media hasn't been positive.
Saudi Arabia has tried hard recently to convince the West that it is taking the lead on tackling the problems of extremism and terrorism. But it's no exaggeration to say there are some perplexing aspects to this new alliance.
First, some of the countries apparently in the alliance claim to have never heard of it
A total of 34 nations have been declared as members of the alliance, but already some countries have come out to say that they never agreed to anything.
“We came to know about it (the alliance) through news reports," a senior official of Pakistan’s Foreign Office told the Express Tribune after the announcement. "We have asked our ambassador in Saudi Arabia to get details on it." Another unnamed individual told the newspaper that they were unsure whether they were part of any military alliance and noted that the country would not get involved in an alliance without United Nations backing.
Pakistan isn't the only country that got a surprise with the list. The governments of Malaysia and Lebanon have also suggested they knew little about the alliance that they were listed as a part of.
Other countries listed as being part of the alliance do not have Muslim majorities
Confusingly, while the Saudi government suggested its members came from "all over the Islamic world," a number of the countries listed as members do not have Muslim majorities. For example, over 80 percent of Uganda is Christian, while as much as 75 percent of Gabon is Christian. In Benin, thelargest religion is Catholicism, and in Togo, the majority of the populationholds indigenous beliefs.
These countries do have large Muslim minorities and ties to the Muslim world, including membership of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (another alliance created at the behest of the Saudis). However, their involvement in the alliance is still surprising – especially when you consider the countries not in the alliance.
A number major Muslim countries are not part of the alliance
Some of the most important Muslim countries in the world, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Indonesia, are not part of the alliance. Why not exactly?
Well, in the first two cases, the reasoning seems depressingly obvious – both are Shiite majority nations.
The exclusion of Shiite nations in an alliance designed to represent the Islamic world seems to reinforce the belief that Saudi Arabia's alliance is motivated by a sectarian rivalry with Iran and not terrorism. Saudi officials deny this. “This is not a Sunni coalition or a Shia coalition,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference in Paris. Many people do not buy this (in Lebanon, government officials have had to assure the Shiite militant group and political party Hezbollah that it would not be targeted by the alliance).
Meanwhile, Afghanistan has been asked to join the alliance but has not made a decision at the time of writing, while it is not clear whether Indonesia has been asked to join yet.
It's unclear what exactly the alliance is aiming to do
Perhaps the most damning criticism of the alliance is just how vague it is. Jubeir has said that "nothing is off the table" when it comes to the alliance, which will not only have a military component but also tackle terrorist funding and ideology. What that means in practice is anyone's guess.
Saudi Arabia has also gone to lengths to suggest that the alliance would not be limited to attempts to fight the Islamic State, but would focus on terrorism in general. Some, such as Brian Whitaker of the al-Bab website, have argued that Saudi Arabia's definition of terrorism is worryingly broad. "Under a law introduced last year, virtually any criticism of the kingdom's political system or its interpretation of Islam counts as terrorism," Whitaker writes. Does this now apply to other countries in the alliance, too?
Many critics of Saudi Arabia say that for all its big talk in the fight against the Islamic State, the kingdom has proved unwilling to go after one of the key factors in the group's rise: the Saudi clerics who spread a radical Wahhabism that influences extremism around the world. There's a kernel of truth here – Saudi Arabia has certainly taken steps to stop the more extreme preachers, but it often seems just as interested in pushing a regional sectarian rivalry with Iran.
The problem is that that sectarianism often feeds further into extremism. And while this new alliance may appear to target terrorism, it's not hard to see it as an extension of the Saudi-led coalition currently fighting in Yemen – a war that sums up the sectarian quagmire currently engulfing the Middle East.
Britain under fire over arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Ali Kheradpir
Fresh controversy is surrounding the UK over its selling of arms to Saudi Arabia and their role in the war inYemen.
A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen since March.
Today, lawyers representing Campaign Against Arms Trade claimed the coalition’s air-strikes were targeting civilians.
Law firm Leigh Day has threatened the UK government with legal action unless it suspends all licenses permitting UK produced arms to be sent to Saudi Arabia.
Although the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has the backing of the UN Security Council, on November 12, Leigh Day wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills saying ‘in light of alleged grave breaches of international humanitarian law’ that it was concerned about arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
In August Stephen O’Brien, UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, told the UN Security Council that the Saudi Arabian attacks ‘on civilian areas had clearly broken international law’.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, confirmed last month that weapons manufactured in the UK are being used by Saudi Arabia.
The opponents of exporting weapons to Saudi Arabia said almost 6,000 people have been killed since the military campaign began and according to the UN estimates, 60 per cent of those who have been killed or wounded have been civilians.
“The conflict in Yemen has turned the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises,” Amnesty International said in a statement. “Civilian targets including hospitals, schools, markets, grain warehouses, ports and a displaced persons camp have been hit in airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition forces.
“All sides in the conflict are responsible for causing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The UK is not alone in sending arms to and supporting parties to the conflict. Several other countries, including France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Russia and the US have reportedly also supplied arms to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition now fighting in Yemen, with supplies to the Houthis clouded in secrecy.”
Saudi Arabia says Shia-armed rebels have taken control of most of Yemen and they are not the country’s legitimate government.
The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement to parliament in November: “The UK takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. We rigorously examine every application on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.”
http://www.euronews.com/2015/12/17/britain-under-fire-over-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia/
Abdullah al-Zaher: Saudi Arabia is about to behead a teenage boy for attending a protest aged 15
Saudi Arabia is believed to be on the brink of executing a teenage boy who was arrested at the age of 15 for attending a protest.
Campaign group Reprieve told The Independent Abdullah al-Zaher, who is now 19, was the youngest in a group of juvenile offenders put on death row as part of a ruthless crackdown on political dissent in the conservative kingdom.
Previously held alongside fellow juvenile offender Ali al-Nimr, whose case sparked outrage around the world, Abdullah has now been moved to solitary confinement at a new facility and could be beheaded at any moment.
In a last-ditch attempt to save their son’s life – and in spite of the danger of repercussions from the Saudi authorities – Abdullah’s parents have gone public with his story.
Speaking to the Guardian, his father Hassan al-Zaher issued a desperate appeal. He said: “Please help me save my son from the imminent threat of death. He doesn’t deserve to die just because he participated in a protest rally.”
A spokeswoman for Reprieve said Abdullah was arrested “for being in the area of a protest” in March 2012, beaten on the spot by police and tortured.
His family
and lawyers believe he was forced to sign a document without knowing its contents, and which later was used as a “confession” in the closed trial against him.
and lawyers believe he was forced to sign a document without knowing its contents, and which later was used as a “confession” in the closed trial against him.
Saudi government-aligned media outlets have been carrying reports in the past couple of weeks suggesting a mass execution of 52 prisoners is due to take place imminently.
And despite assurances to the contrary from the British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, Reprieve understands that this group includes Mr al-Nimr and his uncle, Sheikh Nimr, as well as Abdullah.
The charity has been tracking the cases of three juveniles, the third being 17-year-old protester Dawoud al-Marhoon, and believes they could be killed at any moment.
“What we know from the families of the three is that they are in solitary confinement and being prepared for execution,” a Reprieve spokeswoman said.
“They have been moved and undergone medical examinations, which seem to suggest their beheading is imminent. The whole business of executions in Saudi Arabia is shrouded in secrecy, and prisoners are often beheaded without any notice to family or lawyers.”
Mr al-Zaher described Abdullah as a popular and peaceful boy, and said the condition of his health when he last saw him in prison – three months ago now – was “not good”.
“He loved to ride my horses and wanted to become a medical assistant or nurse someday,” he said. “My son ... did not fully understand what the people are protesting for. He was only 15 years old, still a minor, so we expected a lesser punishment if he was proven guilty.”
Going public is the last resort for families trying to save their loved ones from Saudi death row. Ali al-Nimr’s own father was arrested in October after speaking to Channel 4 News.
“The Saudi government is very repressive, and a lot of people choose not to go public because of the risk of harassment by the authorities,” Reprieve said. “It seems Abdullah’s family feel they have nothing to lose.”
The Foreign Office appears to stand by its suggestion, issued a couple of months ago, that the Foreign Secretary’s diplomatic efforts had secured Mr al-Nimr’s safety.
Reprieve said there was a “disconnect” between such claims and reports from the prisoners’ families. It called on international “allies” of Saudi Arabia, including the UK, to condemn its plans to execute 52 people in a single day, especially the three juveniles.
China strongly opposes US arms sale to Taiwan
Zheng made the statement shortly after the US administration announced a 1.83-billion-US-dollar arms sale package for Taiwan.
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. China strongly opposes the US arms sale to Taiwan," Zheng said.
The arms sale severely goes against international law and the basic norms of international relations, severely goes against the principles in the three China-US joint communiques, and severely harms China's sovereignty and security interests, he said.
"To safeguard our national interests, China has decided to take necessary measures, including imposing sanctions against the companies involved in the arms sale," Zheng said.
"No one can shake the firm will of the Chinese government and people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to oppose foreign interference," the vice minister said.
China urges the United States to abide by the clear commitment it has made in the three joint communiques, revoke the arms sale plan, and stop military contact with Taiwan, so as to avoid bringing further damage to China-US relations and bilateral cooperation in major areas, Zheng added.
China - US arms sale to disrupt cross-Straits peace
This is the first major US arms sale to the island since 2011. Although the scale of this deal is smaller than previous ones, its nature is as evil as ever.
The Chinese mainland's military power has long since gained overwhelming advantage against Taiwan. No matter how many weapons the US sells to it, the mismatched power structure across the Taiwan Straits won't be changed.
Perry-class frigates have already been retired from the US Navy. Instead of saying that this is merely an arms sale, it might be more precise to say that Taiwan is paying tribute to the US as well as begging for a protection commitment from Washington.
The US, on the one hand, is making a profit from Taiwan. On the other, it is encouraging the island to keep its mentality of using military muscle to safeguard its peace, strengthen the military confrontation across the Straits through arms sales, and suppressing the advocacy of maintaining peace through cross-Straits dialogue. The US is setting the scene of Chinese fighting against Chinese.
Taiwan is currently restricted financially, with its annual GDP only as much as the mainland's defense budget. Military confrontation against the mainland by Taiwan alone is never going to happen. Washington's protection pledge is the only card that the island has for its defense, and it is a weakening one.
Given the mainland's steadily growing military power, once the US gets involved in a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, it will face increasing costs and consequences.
Therefore, Taiwan needs a thorough change of mind-set over security, and must make genuine efforts toward establishing a long-lasting peace across the Straits. US protection is not reliable and holding on to its commitment will only misguide Taiwan itself.
The US is far away from Taiwan, but it wants to retain the island as a pawn in its strategy against China. For Taiwan, turning its back against the mainland, an economic and military giant, means huge strategic risks.
Taiwan's long-term dependence on US military protection will inevitably lead to a vicious circle of the island's politics.
China will never allow Washington to stir up trouble in the peaceful development across the Straits by constant arms sales.
China has the firm will to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is no suspense at all over the ultimate result in this struggle around the Taiwan question. Arms sales to the island will turn out to be increasingly harder, and the bitterness caused is clear to both Washington and Taiwan.
China warns of ‘double standard’ in protecting country’s cyber security
'Cleaning the Internet '
'Flagrant Violation of Freedom': Ukraine Bans Communist Party
The Communist Party of Ukraine has been banned from operating and participating in elections following a court's decision to uphold a government lawsuit that accused the party of promoting separatism and inter-ethnic conflict.
On Wednesday, the Kiev District Administrative Court ruled for the plaintiff – the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice – that had filed a lawsuit in 2014 requesting a ban on all activities of the Communist party in Ukraine.
In May, Ukraine adopted controversial "de-communization" laws which outlawed the display of Soviet symbols and prohibited the use of the term "communist." The Communist Party of Ukraine refused to change its name, logo or its charter to comply with the legislation.
Human rights campaigners criticized the court's decision, calling it "a flagrant violation of freedom of expression and association."
John Dalhuisen of Amnesty International said the court ban set a dangerous precedent.
"The decision may be seen as dealing with the damaging vestiges of the Soviet past. In fact, it does exactly the opposite by following the same style of draconian measures used to stifle dissent," he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
"Expressing your opinion without fear of prosecution, particularly if that opinion is contrary to the views held by those in position of power, was one of the principles behind the EuroMaidan protests. Snuffing out the Communist party flies in the face of these ideals."
The Communist party has spoken out against Kiev's military campaign against separatists in eastern Ukraine, calling it a war against its own people.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20151217/1031927474/ukraine-bans-communist-party.html#ixzz3ucZoQRW3
German monthly Cicero calls Putin Man of the Year
The German monthly magazine Cicero focusing on politics and culture has named Russian President Vladimir Putin Man of the Year, the online edition said on Thursday.
"One cannot but admit that Putin has managed to become a key figure in the global politics," Editor-In-Chief Christof Schwennicke said. "Nothing advances without Russia, which was proved by negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, and this becomes apparent now through the example of a war in Syria and at Vienna talks on search for a political settlement of the Syrian conflict," he said.
The journalist reminded the audience that in 2007, "the Russian president made a resounding speech at the Munich conference on security, which, however, fell on deaf ears". Putin’s speech was devoted to the place and role of Russia in the world with due regard for present-day realities and threats, and inadmissibility of one-polar model in the modern politics.
"One may not like Putin, but he must be reckoned with. More than ever before," Christof Schwennicke said.
The monthly magazine was set up in 2004 and has a circulation of about 84,000 copies.
http://tass.ru/en/world/845135
Bernie Sanders picks up two big endorsements
Nicole Gaudiano
Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ bid for the Democratic presidential nomination scored two big endorsements Thursday, one from a major labor union and another from a progressive political action committee founded by former Vermont governor Howard Dean .
The Vermont independent’s endorsement by the Communications Workers of America union, which represents 700,000 public and private sector workers, is one of his biggest endorsements to date. It follows a series of endorsements for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton by 18 unions and labor alliances representing nearly 12 million people.
The Democracy for America PAC endorsed Sanders even after Dean asked the group’s members to support Clinton.
Both Democracy for America and the Communications Workers of America could tap members for fundraising support and grass-roots organizing. The union, which endorsed Sanders after polling its members, has a super PAC that can make unlimited independent expenditures in support of Sanders or against other candidates.
“We will use whatever we need, with our own members and with working people across this country, to do every single thing we can to get Bernie Sanders elected to the presidency of the United States,” said CWA President Christopher Shelton.
Sanders reiterated that he opposes super PACs. But he drew a distinction between labor unions and wealthy donors contributing unlimited funds.
“This is what grass-roots activism is about,” Sanders said. “Any comparison about working people knocking on doors as opposed to billionaires making a contribution I think would be a false (comparison.)”
Sanders earned Democracy for America’s endorsement after receiving nearly 88% of 271,527 votes cast by members and other progressives nationwide over a nine-day voting period.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2015/12/17/bernie-sanders-endorsement-communications-workers-of-america/77482612/
#Bangladesh - ڈھاکہ انقلاب سے سقوط تک
Victory Day celebrated in Bangladesh with ‘renewed joy’
People, dressed in green and red from the national flag, flooded the National Memorial in Savar on Wednesday with flowers to mark the 44th anniversary of the victory snatched from Pakistan.
The demand to sever ties with Pakistan has been renewed, Dhaka University having already cut the ties two days ago.
There were oaths in millions of voices to build a prosperous Bangladesh.
Liberation War Sector Commander Abu Osman Chowdhury said the trial of the war criminals brought a pleasure of ‘double victory’ this year.
He called for severing ties with Pakistan.
“On this day, we want to say that we cannot have any relation, including in the education sector, with those who conduct terrorism and lie,” he said.
Jahangirnagar University Vice-Chancellor Farzana Islam said, “We have liberated the country and tried the war criminals. The trial is going on. Now it’s time to build the nation.”
Groups of foreigners also joined the celebrations.
A cultural programme was held at the memorial throughout the day.
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