C T Online Desk: he nation is today recalling the horrific atrocities by the Pakistan Army that began on March 25, 1971, but the genocide is yet to receive international recognition 51 years after the heinous attack.
The US-based organizations Genocide Watch and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention recognized the brutality by the Pakistan army as a genocide in February this year, but the United Nations and broader international community are yet to follow suit despite the efforts of the government and individuals.
According to government insiders, a major reason for the delay is that no Bangladesh government pressed the issue in international forums before the Awami League government did it in 2017.
The process of the recognition of genocide takes time, as recognition from the United Nations or the International Association of Genocide Scholars only follows recognition from several smaller organizations, they added.
The officials further said the Bangladeshi diaspora abroad have recently been trying to drum up support for recognition of the genocide, but they have so far been unable to properly mobilize their communities.
“Although MPs from the Bangladeshi diaspora have been elected in several countries, including the UK, the people in their constituencies do not seem to have the pro-liberation spirit,” said one government official.
Some of the MPs were elected in states where members of the Pakistani diaspora are in leading positions, which is leading to additional challenges, he added.
When contacted, Friends of Liberation War Honour recipient Julian Francis told Dhaka Tribune: “Many years later, in 2017, and in the month of March, it was very fitting that the government of Bangladesh, as authorized by parliament, decided that March 25 will henceforth be observed as national Genocide Day. The government is now seeking international cooperation so that the genocide carried out in 1971 will be internationally recognized as genocide.
“I think the Bangladeshi-born MPs who are currently in the British parliament can raise this issue in the parliament of the UK,” added Julian Francis, popularly known as Julian Bhai. He is himself also taking part in several seminars to get international recognition for the March 25 genocide.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque told Dhaka Tribune on Thursday night that the government had urged the United Nations to declare March 25 as Genocide Day.
“The UN currently observes a day against genocide on December 9. So, we have proposed shifting the day to March 25. We are trying to get international recognition for it,” he added.
