Bangladesh accuses Pakistan of falsification about exhibition at UN on genocide

Bangladesh organised the exhibition at the UN headquarters in New York to mark Mar 25 National Genocide Day

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 April 2023, 03:42 PM
Updated : 20 April 2023, 03:42 PM

The foreign ministry has said Pakistan falsified about Bangladesh’s exhibition at the United Nations on the genocide during the 1971 Liberation War.

The ministry in a statement on Thursday said the Bangladesh mission at the UN organised the exhibition at the global body's headquarters in New York with its full support and following all its rules to mark National Genocide Day.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen visited the three-day exhibition along with foreign ambassadors and diplomats, expatriate Bangladeshis and freedom fighters on Mar 29.

On Apr 3, the Pakistani media published reports quoting a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying: “When pointed out by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, the exhibition was taken down immediately due to its misrepresentation of history and non-compliance with relevant UN rules. We appreciate the swift action taken by the United Nations in this regard."

The Bangladesh foreign ministry said the claim that the exhibition was “taken down immediately due to its misrepresentation of history and non-compliance with relevant UN rules” was “untrue and imaginary”.

The Pakistani forces swooped down on unarmed Bengalis on Mar 25 night in 1971 in a brutal attempt to crush their struggle for freedom.

Codenamed ‘Operation Searchlight’, it carried out genocide in the early hours of that night in Dhaka. At least 7,000 Bengali were killed only in the capital.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence before being arrested by the Pakistani forces the same night.

Bengalis retaliated with spectacular resistance and fought for nine months of the Liberation War to snatch the victory on Dec 16 when the occupation army surrendered to the allied forces backed by India.

Bangladesh has been demanding that the United Nations declare the day as the World Genocide Day as a mark of protest against the genocides carried out around the globe.

The United Nations, however, in September 2015, recognised Dec 9 as International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the Prevention of this Crime.

Dec 9 is the anniversary of the adoption of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide or the ‘Genocide Convention’.

Bangladesh’s Parliament in 2017 passed a motion declaring Mar 25 as National Genocide Day. Mar 26 is Bangladesh’s Independence Day.

In 2021 and 2022, US-based organisations Genocide Watch and Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention recognised the brutal slaughter of Bangladeshis by the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971 as genocide.

Without mentioning the genocide, the Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperon said: “We believe that the issues related to the events of 1971 were resolved through an agreement concluded by the then leadership of Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1974. Pakistan reaffirms its sincere desire for close and fraternal relations with the people of Bangladesh.”

In response, the Bangladesh foreign ministry said the exhibition would play a role in making the UN member states aware of the 1971 genocide.

“The Bangladesh mission expresses its sincere gratitude to the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka and the UN headquarters in New York for their support in organising the historic event.”

“The foreign ministry’s efforts to get international recognition of the 1971 genocide will continue.”