Engage foreign friends of our liberation war for '71 genocide recognition: Prominent citizens

International recognition of genocide and atrocities carried out by the then West Pakistani military in Bangladesh on 25 March 1971 is yet to happen even after 52 years of independence due to "domestic and foreign politics", civil society leaders said yesterday.

They have called upon the government as well as writers, researchers, cultural people and all concerned to proactively campaign for the global recognition of the genocide.

"Everyone knows about the genocide in Rwanda, Bosnia, but why is ours forgotten? The politics behind this is – when the war happened, no superpower like China, America or the so-called Muslim world was in favour of Bangladesh," Historian Muntasir Mamoon said at a roundtable organised by Editors Guild Bangladesh, an association that promotes responsible journalism.

"Noone could accept the fact that men, wearing lungis, defeated one of the largest armies in the world," he said at the event held at the Dhaka Gallery.

From academia to politics, there was a consensus of sort that the issue will not be discussed, said Muntasir Mamoon, adding, "Since 1975, the BNP and Jatiya Party did not want to bring up the issue of genocide."

So, the bottom line is the issue of genocide was lost due to internal and foreign politics, he said.

Jatiya Party lawmaker Kazi Firoz Rashid said all governments so far failed to make this happen.

"The current government led by the Awami League is the most responsible. They could not do it even after being in power for 20 years," he said and questioned the role of the foreign ministry in this regard.

The day has been observed as Genocide Day officially for the seventh time in the country on Saturday since the parliament unanimously adopted a resolution on 11 March 2017.

'Genocide Day' was observed yesterday – recalling the brutalities of the Pakistan army during Operation Searchlight, launched on the night of 25 March 1971 as a last resort to try and suppress the will of the people of what would become, in less than nine months, an independent Bangladesh.

Calling for self-criticism for non-recognition, the martyr's son Asif Munier said, "We are only thinking about celebrating the day on 25 March or 16 December. That is why there is no strategic position in the long term."

Highlighting the need for international lobbying with proper documentation, he said, "Parties including Awami League must announce their strategy for recognition in the upcoming election manifesto."

Blaming the culture of impunity, Barrister Tania Amir said, "Pakistan Army officers responsible for the massacre have not been prosecuted."

For this reason, she emphasised on engaging global personalities by starting a mock trial.

DrTawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister, said, "Mock trials are not bad to keep the topic of global genocide alive. Also, we have to think about what kind of steps can be taken along with the curriculum to retain it in the new generation."

Along with the government, he called on everyone, including art-literature-culture workers, to fulfill their respective responsibilities.

Senior journalist Abed Khan called on the government to "actively move" for the recognition of genocide.

Haroon Habib, secretary general of Sector Commanders' Forum said as a strategy to gain international recognition, "We have to engage our liberation war friends in different countries."

However, he pointed out that the missions of Bangladesh located abroad do not have sufficient documentation in this regard.

The event was moderated by Mozammel Babu, president of Editors Guild Bangladesh while Major General (retd) Helal Morshed Khan, Bir Bikrom and human rights activist Rokeya Kabir, also spoke among others.