The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Twenty-three eminent citizens of the country yesterday in a joint statement urged the government to give all the camp dwelling Urdu-speaking people Bangladeshi citizenship.

They also demanded of the government to facilitate their exercise of effective citizenship rights by enrolling them as voters and include them in the national Identity Card scheme immediately.

According to the constitution and citizenship law of Bangladesh, all members of the camp dwelling Urdu-speaking community in the country are its citizens, the statement reads. Their eligibility as Bangladeshi citizens has been further confirmed by the pronouncement of the Supreme Court earlier, the statement claimed.

At an inter-ministerial meeting held on September 5 this year decided that amongst the camp dwelling Urdu-speaking community, those who were born after 1971 and those who were minors during the Liberation War would be given citizenship status and thus be enrolled as voters and included in the national ID card scheme.

However, a significant numbers of Urdu-speaking people mostly over 40 years old want to repatriate themselves to Pakistan claiming themselves as Pakistani citizens.

The signatories are eminent educationist Dr Sirajul Islam Chowdhury Professor, English Department, prominent refugee expert Dr CR Abrar, Professor, International Relations Department, Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, Professor, Political Science Department, Dr Zafar Ahmed Bhuyian, Urdu Department and Dr Asif Nazrul, Law Department of Dhaka University, Anu Mohammad, Professor and Head, Economics Department of Jahangir Nagar University, Dr Azfar Hossain, Professor, English Department, North South University, Dr Piash Karim, Professor, Economic Department, BRAC University, Nurul Kabir, Editor, The New Age, Kamal Lohani, veteran journalist, Adv MI Farooqui, Dr Shadeen Malik, Senior Advocates, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Asad Chowdhury, eminent poet and president Banga-Urdu Literary Forum, Samudra Gupta, eminent poet and Executive Member, Bangladesh Poetry Council, Tareque Masud, Tanvir Mokammel, prominent filmmakers, Ahmed Illias, Executive Director, Al-Falah Bangladesh, Taleya Rahman, Executive Director, Democracy Watch, Dr Ferdaus Azim, Executive Director, Nari Pakhkho, Farida Akhter, Executive Director, UBINIG, Adv Adilur Rahman, Secretary, Odhikar and Taslimur Rahman, Executive Director, BLAST.