Operation Searchlight: Initiation of 1971 Genocide

The Bangladesh National Assembly has declared 25 March as National Genocide Remembrance Day. It was the right decision, albeit late, nevertheless, we can now as a nation officially pay our tributes to the victims of the 1971 Liberation War. We owe our independence to the sacrifice of our indomitable freedom fighters assisted by India and the Socialist bloc. And now after more than 50 years of independence, we are faring much better than our former partners in most of the socio-economic and political indicators of a modern state.

But let us ask ourselves, are we doing enough to observe this day? Some programmes are chalked out formally in some of our government offices. Some of the foreign missions also devote time to the issue in their Independence Day programme.

Besides this, a clarion call is made to citizens to observe a one-minute complete blackout across the entire country at 9 pm on 25 March to symbolise the start of Operation Searchlight and the ensuing genocide on that dark day. Symbolic lighting of candles is also observed as a mark of remembrance for the victims of the genocide.

In my opinion, these acts are still utterly insufficient. We owe our independence to those who sacrificed their lives for a better tomorrow.

The death toll of the War is often stated to be three million. But there is a tendency to forget the other victims of the War. While these three million martyrs are of course the prime victims of the 1971 Genocide, there are more.

There were between two to four hundred thousand women who were mercilessly raped during the nine months. Some of the enemy generals went on record, boasting about these war crimes. Ten million Bangalees were forced to leave and seek asylum in nearby India, leaving behind all their properties and belongings that were looted, burned and destroyed by the ravaging army.

There, they had to survive in shanties in inhumane and unhygienic conditions. Cholera and other infectious diseases were rife in the camps. Exhaustion, malnutrition and lack of medical support claimed countless lives both in transit and in the camps. These figures fall under the death toll of the genocide.

While the Indian government led by Ms Indira Gandhi supported our Mukti Bahini (FFs) and refugees to the best of her capacity, the suffering was still immense. International NGOs and Bangladeshi diaspora abroad also rose to the occasion. Much of the socialist bloc of the world accorded moral support.

On the other hand, the leaders of the Western world and the newly emerging communist power China were in support of the Pakistani military. The United Nations could not act to stop the genocide.

The 1948 UN Genocide Convention defined genocide as a criminal offence. Genocide is defined in the convention as an intent or steps taken to destroy in part or a whole group of people. The group may be national, racial, religious or ethnic.

The Convention was passed unanimously in the UN General Assembly and came into effect in 1951 after more than 20 countries ratified it in their own parliaments. To date, close to 150 countries have also ratified it. Incidentally, both Bangladesh and Pakistan are signatories to the Convention. So, Pakistan is bound to abide by the provisions of the Convention.

To honour the victims of the genocide, we must seek and achieve international recognition of the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide. After the assassination of Bangabandhu, these efforts slackened and the wheels of history were deliberately turned back. Fortunately, in recent years civil society organisations, Pro-Liberation war forces, Bangladeshi diaspora organisations and the Government have once again brought these demands to light.

I would not say that the efforts put in are extreme, still, the progress so far has been promising. The efforts by some young and enthusiastic genocide scholars and activists have worked miracles. And with the support of senior members, we have succeeded in getting recognition of the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide perpetrated by Pakistan from four renowned international organisations working worldwide on the subject. They are the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, Genocide Watch, the International Coalition for Sites of Conscience and most importantly the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

We could also raise the issue with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through the Bangladeshi diaspora-friendly organisation, Bangladesh Support Group (BASUG) in The Netherlands.

Conferences and seminars are being held on a regular basis at home and abroad under the auspices of our diaspora organisations, civil society organisations, the Government and even some foreign NGOs working on human rights. During the current International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings of the Palestinian genocide case brought forward by South Africa, the Bangladeshi Genocide has been cited as an example.

Now, in my opinion, all efforts by different organisations should be compiled and coordinated by the Bangladesh Government to work out a definite and resolute line of action on how to proceed to get the required recognition from the UN, other international bodies and most importantly different governments.

Many may wonder how recognition will benefit us after such a long time. Well, recognition of a genocide does not happen so easily. The Armenians had to fight for more than a hundred years to achieve even partial recognition of the Armenian genocide. Many genocides have been forgotten without ever being recognised or talked about. The expeditions of Chengiz Khan and the Holodomor in Ukraine were genocides. There were genocides in Indonesia, Timor, Biafra and Katanga. But nobody talks about them any more.

There are success stories as well. The Rwandan, Cambodian and Bosnian genocides drew international attention pretty quickly and actions were taken by the international bodies. The cases of the Rohingya and Palestine genocides are being heard by ICJ.

We can not afford to let the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide be forgotten. Let me give a brief on what we will gain by achieving international recognition of the 1971 Genocide.

1) Pakistan's leadership will be under pressure to offer an unconditional apology for the genocide. It will bring some solace to the victims and their families.

2) As a signatory to the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, Pakistan will be bound to bring the perpetrators to justice. It may very well start with the surviving members of the accused list of 195 that Bangladesh was prepared to try which Pakistan evaded under the tripartite Delhi agreement. That will again satisfy the Bangladeshi government and the victims and families of the genocide.

3) Reparations to genocide victims will be put on the agenda.

4) Pakistan will have to take back the citizens who are still living in Bangladesh if they are willing to go back.

5) Bangladesh will be in a position to negotiate its due share of the National exchequer as of 1971.

Both the people of Bangladesh and Pakistan require closure to this long outstanding issue. Once it is resolved we can move forward together for development. Unless the issue is taken up in all seriousness and resolved once and for all, we can not be at rest. Our martyrs will never forgive us.

Bangladeshi civil society, organisations imbibed with the spirit of the 1971 War of Liberation, all freedom-loving progressive citizens, Bangladeshi diaspora organisations and the Government of Bangladesh should act in unison and be firm on the issue of international recognition of the 1971 Genocide.

Our Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs recently announced that a special cell will be opened in his Ministry to coordinate the issue. In fact, firm resolve from the side of the government is a must to pursue and raise the issue in the international forum.

Together we shall have to reach the goal and meaningfully mark Genocide Remembrance Day, thus showing proper respect to the genocide victims.