DHAKA: The Board of Trustees of the Liberation War Museum decided to return a grant assistance made by the Islami Bank for helping the museum’s authorities in preserving the memories of the country’s freedom fight.

“We cannot set up the Liberation War Museum with the money provided by those who opposed the war for our independence,” Museum’s trustee-board member Mofidul Huq said after handover of money by members of the bankers’ association through the Prime Minister’s mediation.

Similar opinion came from Trustee Akku Chowdhury. “We will make a formal announcement within a day or two,” he said.      

Islami Bank Limited donated Tk 50 lakh for construction of a building for the Museum. The charity raised a controversy as to how far it would be justified to take grants from a bank patronised by Jamaat-e-Islami, the party that opposed the war of independence and whose top leaders are now in the dock on war-crime charges.  

On August 16, Islami Bank chairman Prof Abu Naser Muhammad Abduz Zaher formally handed over a cheque for Tk 50 lakh to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the presence of Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman and Liberation War Museum Trustee Mofidul Huq.

Executive vice-chairman of Islami Bank Ashiq Ahmed told banglanews24.com.bd that the Prime Minister, during a meeting with the Bankers Association of Bangladesh (BAB), had requested the banks through the Governor to donate for the building of the Museum.

“We responded to that request,” he said.

On behalf of the BAB, Tk 23.60 crore has been deposited with the PM, Mofidul said.

“Islami Bank, as a member of the association, was also included in the list of donors, but we would not take their support,” Mofidul said.

Members of the Board of Directors of the bank are mostly senior members of Jamaat-e-Ismai. Many of them are also accused of war crimes, now that the trial process reopened after nearly four decades of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against the then Pakistani junta.


BDST 2025 HRS, AUGUST 19, 2010.