IAGS declares crimes committed by Pakistan during Bangladesh’s independence war were genocide

Tawheed Reza Noor, who proposed the resolution, hopes its passage will help Bangladesh get widespread and long-overdue recognition of the 1971 genocide

The International Association of Genocide Scholars or IAGS has declared that the crimes committed by Pakistan during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh were genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Out of 626 members, 208 approved the resolution, four rejected it and six abstained from voting, said Tawheed Reza Noor, a member of the association who proposed the resolution on the matter, confirmed the development to http://bdnews24.com on Monday.

Tawheed, son of martyred journalist Serajuddin Hossain, hopes the passage of the resolution will help Bangladesh get widespread and long-overdue recognition of the 1971 genocide.

Earlier, Genocide Watch became the second US-based organisation campaigning against all forms of mass murder to recognise as genocide the crimes committed by the Pakistani forces during the war.

Tawheed’s application had also earned Bangladesh a similar recognition from US-based Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention.

Gregory Stanton, an expert in genocide studies and founder of Genocide Watch, was among those who backed the resolution proposed by Tawheed at the IAGS.

Tawheed said he had submitted the proposal in July 2021 and it was formally placed at the association in February 2022. IAGS rules stipulated that at least 50 percent turnout is required to pass a resolution, but it was difficult to get so many scholars to vote.

The voting on the resolution was held after the IAGS revised the required turnout to more than 20 percent.

After a month of voting in the second round, the resolution was passed on Sunday with a turnout of 34.8 percent.

Tawheed said experts on genocide studies from across the world examined evidence and bibliography he had submitted with the proposed resolution before casting their votes. The members of the association also include lawyers.

“It’s huge to get recognition of genocide from such a (high) level. Now we can tell those who are unsure about the genocide or deny it that genocide scholars have given the recognition.”