Nuzhat Choudhury
The 6th of August is ‘Hiroshima Day’ which marks the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in 1945 by the United States. Approximately 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and approximately 80,000 people were killed in Nagasaki. I doubt whether the world can ever count the subsequent damage done from radiation to millions and millions of people from generation to generation. And how do you even comprehend the psychological trauma of these genocide victims? How do you count the cost of these heinous acts leading to great human tragedies? That is not possible, ever.
As we remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are reminded of all the genocides that have been committed in different places across the globe throughout recorded history of man. Such an occasion reminds us of one of the largest genocides in recorded history of modern world – the Bangladesh Genocide. During the 1971 liberation war, Pakistani army and their collaborators killed 3 million people and tortured 400 thousand women. Ten million people had to take refuge in India to escape the persecution.
A great tragedy of both Bangladesh genocide and Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings is that the world at large chooses to turn a blind eye towards these two events. Both of these are forgotten genocides. Different geo-political realities and the involvement of Western world in both the events lead the so-called ‘champion of human rights ‘the ‘First World’ to ignore such genocides of epic proportions. Both these events happened in relatively recent times. These genocides are both documented by photographs, videos, news reels, newspapers, even some of the direct victims and their families are still alive. Yet these are forgotten genocides. Yet the world has managed to wipe the memories of these genocides out of their collective historical memories.
Not only that, the facts that the victims still live to vouch for, are being distorted, misconstrued or downright falsified. The US would like us to believe that they dropped atom bombs on thousands of innocent civilians to end the Second World War. It beggars belief that in the name of peace they justify killing children. Similarly Pakistan and its allies would have you believe no such war crimes were committed in Bangladesh. They claim that they did not kill, rape or torture Bengali people. Yet, some of the victims and their families are still alive and continue to speak out against these blatant lies. At the end, it is the victims who suffer again. Knowing that their pain is going unrecognized and seeing the perpetrators go Scot-free, their scars remain raw. There is no closure for these victims and their families.
If you do not recognize genocide for heinous crime that it is, you leave the door open for future genocides to happen. The Pakistani military war criminals were not brought into account the genocide they committed in Bangladesh. Today, the Pakistani military is doing the same thing in their country against the Baloch people in Balochistan. Therefore, it is imperative to recognize genocide and bring the perpetrators to justice for a more secure future of our children. In our pursuit for a more peaceful world, we need to stand against all forms of crimes against humanity.
When one talks about human rights, one cannot afford to be biased or have double standards. We are all united in our condemnation against the genocide of Jewish people in Second World War, the victims of Vietnam genocide. Yet when we, the victims of 1971 Bangladesh genocide, seek recognition from the global community, we are met with deafening silence. Sometimes we are met with opposition. There are continual efforts to undermine the historical truths. So many times we have seen the attempts to downplay the number of people killed in the genocide. Let us make one point clear, the number of deaths has no bearing on determining the gravity of the crime of genocide. It is the intent to eradicate a particular nation or people of particular nationality, race, ethnicity or religion and so forth, that constitutes genocide. So, being the daughter of a victim of genocide, I cannot but help question the morality of these so called vanguards of human rights. Why does the world community still choose to ignore the deaths of 3 million people and the rape of 400 thousand women? Is it because the Pakistani perpetrators were aligned with the Nixon-Kissinger regime?
Similar double standard is visible in the current Rohingya genocide by the Myanmar army. Even though the systematic eradication of the Rohingya people from the land of their forefathers in Myanmar is a clear act of genocide, we see very little effort on the part of the global community to force the Myanmar army to stop this violence. We see even less effort to repatriate them back to their home, the land of their forefathers.
Rather the World Bank had the audacity to suggest that Bangladesh should integrate the persecuted and displaced Rohingyas into Bangladeshi society. The World Bank can’t ignore the fact that the Myanmar regime is trying to wipe the Rohingya community out from their own land, which is nothing but ethnic cleansing as mentioned by the ‘Kofi Annan Commission’. If the World Bank tries to aid the integration of Rohingya people in Bangladesh, that will also be considered as an act of ethnic cleansing or genocidal crimes. So, whoever tries to wipe out the unique identity of any race or community, be it Rohingyas or Palestinians, that will be tantamount to genocidal crimes. Let’s reiterate this point, if you do not aid in the repatriation of the Rohingyas to their home in Myanmar, you are aiding a genocide that the Myanmar army wants you to accept. This cannot be accepted.
As a Bangladeshi, I am appalled by the total lack of consideration for the future effect on Bangladesh. No amount of money/ aid/ loan/ fund or whatever you call the World Bank money offered for it, will ever be sufficient for the destruction of our socio-political harmony. The presence of Rohingyas on our land has already given rise to fear of extremism and has already destroyed a large part of the ecosystem. We are outraged by such a heinous proposal by the World Bank and we strongly condemn it. We applaud the Government of Bangladesh for refusing such an outrageous proposal. Rather, we would like to urge the United Nations to exercise its utmost power to stop ongoing genocide of Rohingyas in Myanmar and to expedite immediate repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas and other displaced nations or race to their homeland.
August is the month of tragedy for Bangladesh. The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with his family members, except two daughters, was killed on the 15th of this month in 1975. Later, on the 21st of August in 2004, the BNP-Jamaat Government sponsored grenade attack on a rally of the then opposition leader, our current Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, killed and wounded many people. We lost Awami League leader Ivy Rahman a few days after the grenade attack. In this tragic month, as we remember the victims of all political aggression and genocide, let us pledge once again to stand united against genocide everywhere and to work together for peaceful coexistence of all people, all nations in our common global community.
Prof Nuzhat Choudhury is Assistant General Secretary, Forum for Secular Bangladesh and Trial of War Criminals of 1971
