‘Genocide-1971’ to get global recognition soon: Former Dutch MP Bommel

Bangladesh will get global recognition of the genocide that was in the country by the Pakistani army in 1971, said former Member of Dutch Parliament and human rights activists Harry van Bommel.

“Even if it takes a hundred years to get global recognition of the Armenian Genocide, I hope it will not take that long in the case of Bangladeshi Genocide. We want to have it within a few years, not even decades”, Bommel told a press conference at National Press Club in the capital on Sunday.

Amra Ekattor, Projonmo Ekattor and the European Bangladesh Forum (EBF), a platform of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Europe, organised the press conference on the occasion of holding an international conference titled ‘International Conference on Bangladesh Genocide Recognition’ scheduled for Monday.

To gather global public opinion in favour of genocide in Bangladesh, the conference is being arranged at Dhaka University campus, organisers said in the conference.

Harry van Bommel further said cold war and the then global superpower, the United States, support to Pakistan is the reason why Bangladeshi Genocide has not been recognised globally even after fifty-one years of independence.

“In 1971, the US extended their cooperation to Pakistan directly providing arms while India was with Russia at that time. That’s why US has been pretending to know nothing about the genocide even though they have been well aware of everything”, said Bommel, adding, “West’s friendship with Pakistan is the reason of this dilemma”.

Social and human rights activist Aroma Dutta, MP, National Press Club president Farida Yasmin, Anthony Holsman of Vrije University, Amsterdam, senior journalist of the United Kingdom Chris Blackburn, EBF UK branch president Ansar Ahmed Ullah, and Bangladesh Support Group (BASUG) chairperson Bikash Chowdhury also addressed the press conference, conducted by Aamra Ekattor chairperson Mahbub Zaman.

While addressing as chief guest Aroma Dutta, MP, said, “I myself am a martyr’s child.” The world’s worst genocide took place in Bangladesh which demands international recognition. The United Nations is obliged to recognise this.”

Bangladesh’s brave freedom fighters, children of martyrs and family members of martyrs were present in the press conference.