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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

[chottala.com] The mass killings in Bangladesh in 1971



The mass killings in Bangladesh in 1971 is the most concentrated act of genocide in the twentieth century. In an attempt to crush forces seeking independence for Bangladesh, the Pakistani military regime unleashed a systematic campaign of mass murder which aimed at killing millions of Bengalis, and likely succeeded in doing so.

Three million people were killed, 200,000 women raped during nine month period of time. Some Bengalis, who called themselves the Razakars, Al Badars & Al Shams, joined hands with the occupying Pakistan Armed Forces in the killing game. Many of them are now leaders in Bangladesh Jamaat-e-islami Party. Recently some of them even denied their involvement in this mass murder.

Our past governments, whom we had elected, ruled for the past 37 years, seem to be unable or unwilling to bring this war criminals to account for their grave misdemeanor. We believe that under Bangladesh 's Criminal Code Act 1973, there is a prima facie case for the prosecution of all war criminal (Ghatok Dalal) for mass murder of civilian populations of Bangladesh , between March, 1971 and December, 1971. ACT NO XIX OF 1973 to provide for the detention, prosecution and punishment of persons for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under Bangladesh criminal code.

The International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 (ICA), promulgated on July 20, 1973 empowers the government to try individuals on specific charges of crimes against humanity and peace, genocide, war crimes, violation of the Geneva Convention and international laws, for assistance or conspiracy to commit such crimes, and for failure to prevent commissioning of such crimes.

The present government only needs to set up a tribunal under the act which is still applicable, as the general amnesty granted to war criminals by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1973 does not apply to individuals against whom there had been specific charges of war crimes. Hopefully we can also have an international tribunal where the Pakistani army officers who were responsible for such carnage will be tried also.

The gazette notification promulgating the ICA on July 20, 1973 says the tribunal set up under the act 'shall have the power to try and punish any person irrespective of his nationality, who, being a member of any armed, defence or auxiliary forces commits or has committed in the territory of Bangladesh, whether before or after the commencement of this act, any of the following crimes."

The act goes on listing the crimes against humanity including rape, torture, abduction, confinement of civilian population, or persecution on political, racial, ethnic or religious grounds, while crimes against peace are defined as planning, preparing, initiating or waging a war in violation of international treaties. The ICA deals with genocide in the most detail, defining it as acts that are committed with intent to 'destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, religious, or political group'.

The crimes that are considered acts of genocide include killing of members of any of the groups, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the groups, deliberately inflicting 'conditions of life calculated to bring about a group's physical destruction in whole or in part', imposing measures to prevent procreation within a group, and forcibly transferring children of one group to another.

War crimes are defined by the ICA as violations of internationally recognised war customs, including but not limited to murder and ill-treatment of civilians or prisoners of war, plunder of private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, and devastation not justified by military necessity.

According to one of the writers of the draft, former ambassador Waliur Rahman, the ICA was initiated by Bangabandhu immediately after his return from internment in Pakistan in January 1972, and was drafted under the direct auspices of two prosecutors from the Nuremberg Trials. Meanwhile, the country is agog with the demands for trial of war criminals, which, during 1971 war of liberation, collaborated with the Pakistan Army. Initially Bangladesh wanted 193 Pakistani Soldiers as War Criminals. But because of Indian pressure, Sheikh Mujib could not do it. Also J. A. Bhutto promised that he would try those was criminals in his country.

Sheikh Mujib promulgated the Special Tribunal Order on January 24, 1972 (PO No 8 of 1972) after 14 days of his return from Pakistani jail to trial those Pakistani collaborators, Razakars, Al-Badrs and other stooges of the Pakistani army. Nearly 800 cases were completed and given jail sentences. Another 11,000 were in jail including Nizami and Abbas Ali Khan of the Jamat-e-Islam Party (JI) ("abuser of holy Islam for political gains"), and their prosecution was at various stages of completion. In addition, those that were involved in 'crime against humanity' and against Bangladesh , were denied Bangladesh nationality and passports. On November 4, 1972 all religion-based politics were abolished as per sections 12 and 38 of the Bangladesh Constitution of 1972.

Unfortunately, when General Ziaur Rahman, a freedom fighter emerged as a 'strong man' in 1975, he abrogated the Collaborators Act and released all the prisoners including those that were sentenced, and those under prosecution. For political and personal reasons he allowed religion-based parties to operate and started reinstating and rehabilitating them. No wonder, those who were guilty of 'crime against humanity' and collaboration with the enemy state ( Pakistan ) started returning from abroad, especially Pakistan and Saudi Arabia , and they were given Bangladesh citizenship and passport. A prime beneficiary of this development is Golam Azam of the Jamaat. However, once General Zia took over, all of them were issued Bangladesh passport or 'travel documents' to return to Bangladesh .

This is a country (Bangladesh) where lies traffic as truth, where the past is rewritten to whitewash the sins of those who opposed our independence, where our very history has been distorted beyond recognition, all without a thought as to the corrupting effect such blatant disregard for truth has on the national character.

If we wonder why things have got to where they are, why corruption, cheating, and petty criminality are so endemic, why in so many areas there seems to be an absence of basic morality, it might be worthwhile to look back at our nation's original sin and locate the problem, or at least its genesis, there.

Can a nation which tolerates lies about its past ever be great?

Can a nation in which war criminals and collaborators can hold their heads up high ever amount to anything? And is it a surprise if such a nation, over the course of time, sinks into a morass of corruption and criminality?

I don't know. But I am unfamiliar with any other instance where those who opposed the birth of a country or those who collaborated with its enemies have been rehabilitated to the point that they are brought into the government. Our case certainly seems shamefully unique.

This is where the corruption of the nation's soul was born. If we focus on corruption and do nothing about the war criminals and collaborators, we are treating only the symptom and not the disease.

Make no mistake about it: this is our original sin, and if we do not cleanse the poison from our bloodstream, once and for all, nothing else we do to clean up the country will have lasting effect, and in the long run our failure will come back to haunt us.

For more information:

http://www.amadershomoy.com/content/2009/12/21/news0525.htm

http://www.nybangla.com/Muktijoddho/G_Azam/Golam-Azam_1971.pdf

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=5540&cpage=1#comment-14944

http://www.khabor.com/news/prabash/03/prabasher_news_03032010_0000002.htm

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=5540&cpage=1#comment-14943

http://tanmoy.amarblog.com/posts/82743

http://www.gendercide.org/case_bangladesh.html

http://www.petitiononline.com/1971war/

http://www.pictureworldbd.com/liberation_war1.htm

http://thedailystar.net/2006/12/16/d612161502116.htm

http://www.genocidebangladesh.org/?page_id=39

http://www.genocidebangladesh.org/

 

 



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