DHAKA: Bangladesh celebrated 37 years of independence on Wednesday with ceremonies and military parades, as protesters urged the government to prosecute those who collaborated with the Pakistan Army in 1971.

Just after midnight, war veterans, victims’ families and supporters across Bangladesh switched off their lights for a minute of remembrance for those killed in the 1971 war and to demand the punishment of war criminals and collaborators.

Thousands also gathered at the Shahid Minar, a memorial for soldiers in downtown Dhaka, lighting candles and shouting for war criminals to be prosecuted.

On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh, then the eastern wing of Pakistan, declared its independence from Islamabad following years of disenchantment with West Pakistan.

East Pakistan officially became the nation of Bangladesh on Dec 16, 1971.

While the majority of East Pakistanis favoured secession from Pakistan, a few sided with the Pakistan Army in its crackdown on the rebellion. Most collaborators were not punished because of a general amnesty in 1973. Others avoided prosecution when a law against collaborators was repealed in 1975.

Subsequent governments have not addressed the issue, despite repeated calls for justice.

The Sector Commanders’ Forum, made up of guerrilla leaders from the 1971 war, organised the blackout early on Wednesday.

The forum said it hoped the demonstration would highlight its demands for the establishment of a special war crimes tribunal, and the barring of known war criminals and collaborators from political office, according to The Independent newspaper.

Army chief Moeen U Ahmed said on Tuesday he was optimistic that the military-backed interim government would consider holding war crimes trials.

“I hope the government will definitely look into what the people want in this regard,” Ahmed said.

At dawn on Wednesday, President Iajuddin Ahmed and other Bangladeshi leaders placed wreaths at a national monument to war heroes near Dhaka and later attended a military parade near the National Parliament complex in the capital. Similar military parades took place across the country.—AP