The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, July 31, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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Pervez’s regret not enough: B’desh Oppn
Atiqur Rahman
Tribune News Service

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (C) flanked by his Commerce Minister Abdul Razzaq Dawood (L) and Bangladesh Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury attends a meeting in Dhaka on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

Dhaka, July 30
Visiting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in his note in the visitor’s book at the Mausoleum of the Martyrs of 1971 liberation war at Savar, 30 km from here expressed “regrets” for “excesses committed during the unfortunate period”.

He, however, urged to bury the past in the spirit of magnanimity.” This regret came for the first time from any Pakistani Head of the Government since the creation of Bangladesh.

A recently constituted civic body demonstrated against the visit of Pervez Musharraf and demanded unconditional apology from him on behalf of fellow army personnel and the state of Pakistan for genocide and war crimes like rapes, arson, committed in 1971. They reiterated that a similar demand was made by the Awami President Sheikh Hasina. Leaders of eight opposition political parties addressed the rally at the Central Shahid Minar, a memorial of language martyrs of 1952, yesterday.

Some of the opposition leaders when contacted by TNS refused to accept only a regret. They demanded unconditional apology. Abdur Razzak, Presidium Member of the Awami League, Rashed Khan Menon, President of Left Workers Party and Manjurul Ahsan Khan, President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh gave their reaction to this correspondent on phone.

Mr Khan said by “expressing regret, the military President of Pakistan is trying to exonerate his former colleagues of the charge of war crimes. We are not ready to accept anything short of unconditional official apology for the genocide.