March 3, 1971

Shamsuddoza Sajen

WITHDRAW FORCES AND TRANSFER POWER

At a meeting organised at Paltan Maidan, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman urged the authorities to withdraw forces from the city and hand over power to the elected representatives of the people. He also called for launching a no-tax campaign.

Bangabandhu, in an apparent reference to West Pakistan leaders, said, “If you do not want to frame one constitution let us frame our own constitution and you frame your own. Then let us see if we can live together as brothers.”

He appealed for communal peace and added the Biharis and non-Muslims “are our sacred trust”.

Complete strikes were observed all through Bangladesh for the first time in response to the call of Bangabandhu. Spontaneous processions were brought out by general people. Several people were killed as the army opened fire on protesters. In Rangpur, as fights broke out between Pakistani army men and civilians, a 24-hour curfew was imposed from 2:30pm in the afternoon. A curfew was also imposed in Sylhet.

YAHYA’S ROUNDTABLE INVITATION

In the evening, there was a radio announcement proposing a roundtable conference of political leaders to be convened by President Yahya Khan in Dhaka on March 10, 1971. This was an effort to find a political solution to the situation in East Pakistan after the sine die postponement of the National Assembly. Yahya took the decision in consultation with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at a meeting held on March 2.