On December 16, the Bengali nation will remember the brave martyrs with due respect. The President, the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, important figures from home and abroad, and people from all walks of life will pay tribute to the best sons of the nation at the National Memorial located in Savar. The National Memorial is ready to pay tribute to the brave martyrs of the Liberation War.

On the occasion of the day, the beautification work including dusting and sweeping has already been completed in the memorial premises. The gates and walls of the memorial have been illuminated. Security arrangements have been strengthened to ensure that people from all walks of life can pay their respects without any hindrance.

On visiting the memorial, it was seen that various roads in the memorial premises have been washed with water. New flower seedlings have been planted in various places. The iron pipes of the street lamps have been given new colors. The painting work has been completed. Hundreds of workers and employees have completed the cleaning and sanitizing of the National Memorial with tireless work and intensive care for a month.

Many people have gathered at the gate of the memorial to see the memorial. After learning from law enforcement members that public access will be closed until December 15 for security reasons, they are standing a little distance from the gate and watching the memorial.

Meanwhile, new street lights can be seen being installed at various places on the Dhaka-Aricha highway adjacent to the memorial, road dividers are being repainted, and dust and sand accumulated on the road are being removed.

Mizanur Rahman, in-charge of the National Memorial and sub- assistant engineer of the Savar Public Works Department, said that a large number of people will descend on the memorial on December 16. Important people from home and abroad, including the President, the chief adviser of the interim government, will pay tribute to the martyrs on this day. We, on behalf of the Public Works Department, have cleaned and decorated the entire memorial premises in various ways.

Meanwhile, the police and other intelligence agencies are providing security around the National Memorial and the surrounding areas around the day.

Dhaka Range DIG AKM Awlad Hossain said, "Five-level security arrangements have been taken so that everyone can pay tribute to the nation's best sons in a beautiful and orderly manner." The surrounding districts will also come under our security zone. People from all over the country will celebrate Victory Day in a joyful atmosphere, so there is no fear of any untoward incident so far.

In 1972, the construction of the National Memorial, a memorial to independence, began on 108 acres of land surrounded by greenery in Nabinagar, Savar.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will attend the freedom fighters rally on December 21, subject to her health condition. The Freedom Fighters Party is organizing a freedom fighters rally on December 21 to mark the great Victory Day. She will be present as the chief guest and address the rally to be held at the China Friendship Conference Center in the capital. This is the first time the former prime minister is going to attend a rally since 2017.

A BNP source said that on Saturday (December 14), Standing Committee Member Major (Retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed and Muktijoddha Dal President Ishtiaq Aziz Ulfat visited BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's residence in Gulshan and met her.

They invited Khaleda Zia to attend the rally as the chief guest. She initially agreed to be at the rally. Besides, the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met Khaleda Zia at night.

When asked about this, one of the members of the BNP media cell, Shairul Kabir Khan, said, "If Allah keeps Madam physically healthy; she can go to the rally."

According to sources in the BNP media cell, Khaleda Zia addressed a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on November 12, 2017, on the occasion of Revolution and Solidarity Day. And on February 8, 2018, before going to jail in an ACC case, she held a press conference at her Gulshan office on February 6. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in a mass uprising by students and the public on August 5, President Md. Shahabuddin ordered Khaleda Zia's release on August 6. Then, on August 7, Khaleda Zia's video speech was broadcast at the Nayapaltan BNP rally.

East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta has arrived in Dhaka on a four-day visit at the invitation of the interim government's chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 10:30 pm on Saturday (December 14). At that time, Jose Ramos Horta was received at the airport by the chief adviser.

Foreign Secretary Md. Jasim Uddin said that this will be the first official visit to Bangladesh by an East Timorese head of state.

Earlier, officials of the Foreign Ministry said that East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta will visit Bangladesh on December 14-17.

On the second day of the visit, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Towhid Hossain will pay a courtesy call on the East Timorese President on the morning of December 15. President Horta will meet with chief adviser Dr. Yunus in the afternoon. The two top leaders will hold a private meeting at the office of the chief adviser. Later, Yunus-Horta will hold a meeting with the delegation. After the meeting, they will hold a joint press conference. Then, a memorandum of understanding on visa waiver agreement and Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) will be signed in the presence of the two top leaders.

This afternoon, Honorary Consul of East Timor Qutubuddin Ahmed and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) President and BNP leader Tabith Awal will meet the visiting President.

On the third day, on December 16, President Horta will meet the President at Bangabhaban. On that day, he will pay tribute to the martyrs of the Bangladesh Liberation War at the Savar National Memorial. He will participate in a program organized to mark the 54th Victory Day of Bangladesh.

On the last day, December 17, President Horta will deliver a speech on the theme ‘The Challenges of Peace in the Contemporary World’ at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIIS) auditorium. Later, he will hold a meeting with Bangladeshi students and young leaders. On the same afternoon, he will deliver a speech to the students and youth of Bangladesh about his country’s experience of the independence struggle, his leadership, the role of the people in the long struggle, and the aspirations of the people of Timor Leste after independence and their implementation. He will leave Dhaka on that day. 

Ripon Das, the accused arrested in the lawyer Saiful Islam Alif murder case in Chattogram, has given a confessional statement in court.

He gave this statement in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sarkar Hasan Shahriar of Chattogram on Saturday (December 14) evening. A total of three accused in the case have given their statements in court regarding this.

The investigation officer of the case and Assistant Police Commissioner of Kotwali Zone of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, Mahfuzur Rahman, said that when Ripon Das was produced in court after questioning on remand, he gave his statement in the judge's private chamber. After the statement, he was sent to jail on the orders of the court.

Police officer Mahfuzur Rahman said that on the day of the incident, Ripon Das raised slogans in the court premises demanding the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das. Later, while Chinmoy was being taken to jail, he went to the Sevak Colony area and hacked and beat lawyer Saiful Islam to death. Ripon Das said he recognized 10 to 12 people who participated in the murder.

Earlier, Chandan Das, the main accused in the murder case, gave his confessional statement in the court on Monday and Rajiv Bhattacharya on Friday.

On November 26, around 12:30 noon, Chinmoy Krishna Das, the spokesperson of Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, who was arrested in a sedition case, was taken to a prison van to be sent to prison after the Chattogram court rejected his bail. His followers protested, the police and BGB lathicharged and threw sound grenades to disperse the protesters. Advocate Saiful Islam Alif was hacked to death in the area adjacent to Rangam Community Hall during a clash with the law enforcement forces that afternoon. 40 people were arrested in 6 cases related to the incident. Among them, 10 were arrested on charges of involvement in the murder.