DHAKA, Sept 7, 2024 (BSS) – A committee comprising architects and experts would be formed soon to turn  Ganabhaban into a museum to preserve the memory of those who were killed and wounded during the students-people uprising that ultimately led to oust  former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime.

As part of the move, three advisers of the interim government visited Ganabhaban, the official residence of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today. Earlier on Thursday, a decision was taken in the cabinet meeting to turn Ganabhaban into a museum. 

The three advisers, who visited Ganabhaban are: Posts and Tele-communications and 
Information Technology and Information and Broadcasting Adviser Md Nahid Islam, Youth and Sports and Labour and Employment Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan and Industries and Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan. 

Coming out from Ganabhaban following an hour long visit insides the premises, the three advisers talked to media about their future plan regarding the Bhaban. 

 Adviser Asif Mahmud said the Ganabhaban will be transformed into a museum to preserve the memory of 2024 mass-uprising, inhuman tortures and repressions, enforced disappearances and murders during the regime of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“Works would be started soon formally to make the Ganabhaban into a museum and for which, we today primarily paid a visit to the Ganabhaban”, he added.  

Mentioning the cabinet decision, Adviser Nahid Islam said the museum will be made to preserve the victory of the people on August 5 against the then fascist government. Many of our friends had to shed bloods and made supreme sacrifices to oust the then fascist regime on August 5, he added.    
 
“We want to make the museum to set an example not only for Bangladesh, but also for the globe to demonstrate the real picture of the autocratic, fascist and killer government,” he added.

Mentioning that they have already held meeting with the authorities concerned, Nahid said that they have held meetings with the concerned public works and sculpture departments and taken primary advises from them and shared their desires with them. 

In this connection, he said a directive has already been given to form a committee to this end and hopefully the committee will be formed by Sunday (tomorrow). We would be able to start development works to make the museum by seven days after forming the committee, he added. 

Replying to a question about those who will be members of the committee, he said experts of the relevant fields and the people involved in preparing sculpture will be included in the committees.

Additionally, he said they have asked to take opinion from foreign experts on museum, if required, and those who have expertise in building museum of mass-uprising. 

About what kind of memories will be preserved in the museum, Nahid said the memories of 36 days of July-August movement popularly known as students-people uprising and the day’s events would be preserved in the museum so that the future generation could know about the movement and the sacrifices they had to make to oust the then autocratic regime.  
 
Besides, the list of the people, the victims of repression, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings in the last 16 years will also be preserved in the museum and a representation ofall these things will also be there, he said.

Giving details, Nahid said they have decided to build the museum by preserving the present condition of Ganabhaban with its debris and there will be some digital representation. 

When asked, where the next Prime Minister will reside, he said they will think it later, adding, “At present, the Chief Adviser is staying at the State Guest House Jamuna.” 

Asked about the interim government measures against the recent human rights violation, Adilur Rahman Khan said, “We’re taking measures as such incidents do not happen again. We have asked the law enforcement agencies time and again to take measures to this end. We have taken stand against it from the very first day of assuming office.”

He went on saying, “We are ensuring that no recurrence of the behaviors to any person that we had to face during the fascist region.”