European fact-finding mission calls upon Pakistan to acknowledge genocide in Bangladesh

The government of Pakistan should acknowledge that genocide was perpetrated in Bangladesh in 1971 without awaiting international acknowledgment, said former Netherlands' MP Harry van Bommel, who is leading a European delegation on a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh to investigate the 1971 genocide.

He made this comment during a view exchange meeting at Chattogram Press Club with journalists on Friday while answering a question.

The mission is visiting a number of killing sites and war museums in and around the capital Dhaka and Chittagong from 20-26 May 2023 to gather first-hand information regarding the genocide in Bangladesh committed by the Pakistani army during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Friday was the final day of the visit. He said, "It is important for the Pakistani government to take a clear stance on the 1971 genocide, especially since internationally respected scientific institutes verified that there was genocide, not just mass killings."

He stated that he scientifically confirmed it was genocide based on scientific criteria and the 1948 UN treaty.

He said, "It is the responsibility of the Pakistani government to react to the scientific conclusion; it cannot simply walk away from this conclusion. Politically, it would also be wise for the Pakistani government to take steps in this respect."

Quoting a Pakistani scientist who participated in a conference in London, Harry van Bommel said that the 1971 genocide is a burden on the shoulders of the average Pakistani citizens.

He urged Pakistan to come to terms with its own past and requires recognition of the 1971 genocide. "So it would be wise for the Pakistan government to come to terms with its own reality and to make an excuse to formally declare that was a genocide, and that is not depending on international recognition," he added.

The mission is an initiative of the European Bangladesh Forum (EBF) and also consists of genocide scientist Anthonie Holslag (VU), political analyst Chris Blackburn, British EBF chairman Ansar Ahmed Ullah, and Dutch EBF chairman Bikash Chowdhury Barua.

What did they see?

According to Harry van Bommel, "The most impressive part of our fact-finding mission was meeting with the families of victims, freedom fighters, and witnesses of the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh."

He said that four prominent scientific institutions have confirmed that what occurred in 1971 was undoubtedly genocide. "In our mission to Bangladesh, we have scientists and political analysts," he stated.

"We studied the materials provided to us, visited the war crime tribunal and the liberation war museum, and spoke with the department of genocide studies at Dhaka University, scientists, and the Dutch ambassador; all were very important, but I would agree that the meetings we had with freedom fighters, victims' families, and witnesses were the most important and impressive."

We visited with family members of genocide victims. According to family members, the government of Bangladesh and the war crimes tribunal have registered a list of collaborators but not a list of victims. As a result, the government of Bangladesh must undertake a lot of work. These victims must never be forgotten. We urge the Bangladesh government to not only acknowledge them but also to include them in official papers.

Witnesses' eyes are filled with grief and pain

They visited different killing sites in Chattogram. Explaining the experience of visiting the killing sites by the Pakistani army in 1971, he said, "We have visited Jagat Mollo Para (in Raozan) and we met with a lady who is around 90 years old. She was a witness when 34 villagers were killed in her village. Her spouse and children were not present at the time and survived. The grief and pain in her eyes can still be seen even 50 years later." 

We are late, but not too late

It took 100 years for the Armenian genocide to be acknowledged internationally; we are now 50 years after the 1971 genocide, and it will not take another 50 years for the Bangladesh genocide to be recognized. It will not take decades, maybe years. He stated that we are late in recognizing this, but not too late; we must hurry.

"Based on the experiences we have learned, we will work with our partners in Chittagong and Dhaka to gain international recognition. We may invite witnesses to the Dutch parliament and the UK parliament, and when we return to our respective countries, we will report on our findings and relate your tales to our lawmakers because we want our politicians to recognize the genocide of 1971. And we will ask our leaders to convey those stories and recognition to the European Union and the United Nations," he said.

He said that the genocide of 1971 is not merely a question of Bangladesh and Pakistan; it is a global issue. They had seen the liberation war museum, the newspaper clippings, images, and testimonials; all of those were known to the world, but the international communities opted not to intervene, instead choosing to assist Pakistan because Pakistan was aligned with the West. At that time when it was happening, the world looked the other way.

He stated that the residents of Bangladesh, the villages, the villagers of Jagat Mollo Para, and others have paid the price for the United States of America's political decision in Europe and other parts of the world. As a result, we are constantly available to you. Whatever we can do to gain this recognition, and to gain it quickly, when we return, we will go to the press again, this time to the Dutch press, possibly the UK press, and others, to relay your tales through conferences, articles, and radio interviews. If we need to return to Bangladesh to help again, we will.

Bangladesh needs to do more

In reference to Bangladesh's insufficient diplomatic movement to obtain recognition, he stated that when we spoke with the Dutch ambassador in Dhaka, one of the questions we asked was, "Have you ever been lobbied by the Bangladeshi government on the issue of recognition?" No was the answer.

International recognition requires that your movement needs to take a stand for this. We will go to our respective government parliament to play our role, and you can also play your role in this because there is a substantial Bangladeshi diaspora in the United Kingdom, in the United States of America, and a small one in the Netherlands. You can ask your family members abroad, your friends abroad, to support the diaspora organization and their friends to play a role. You can ask your government, as we do, to instruct Bangladeshi ambassadors abroad to bring this issue of recognition to the governments in the countries where they are based.

He said that should change. He urged the Bangladeshi government to speak to diplomats in Dhaka and to convey the notion that recognition is a global matter, not simply a domestic one. He also said that it must be done by a worldwide institution, such as the United Nations. It is a worldwide responsibility.

The view exchange meeting was presided over by Chattogram Press Club's president, Sala Uddin Mohammad Reza, while moderated by Secretary Debdulal Bhowmik.

Genocide scientist Anthonie Holslag (VU), political analyst Chris Blackburn, British EBF chairman Ansar Ahmed Ullah, and Dutch EBF chairman Bikash Chowdhury Barua, Chattogram Press Club vice president Farid Uddin Chowdhury, Pradip Kumar Dutta, and Helal Foyezi spoke among others.