01-05-2007, 04:32 AM
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/04spec.htm
The Rediff Special/ Mashuqur Rahman
The demons of 1971
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->On December 16, 1971 the Pakistan army in Bangladesh formally surrendered. At the cost of three million dead the nation of Bangladesh was born. It was the most concentrated act of genocide of the 20th century.
Thirty-five years after the birth of the nation, many have forgotten the sacrifices of those who are no longer with us. But for those of us who survived, for our parents who kept us safe through the months of terror, there is no erasing the horrors of 1971.
Bangladesh today has yet to exorcise the demons of 1971. Many of the Razakars who collaborated with the Pakistan army and murdered countless Bengalis have today returned to Bangladesh. Some of the Razakar leaders from 1971 today lead the Jamaat-e-Islami party. Still others live freely in the United Kingdom and the United States. None of these Razakars have yet to face justice for the crimes they committed in 1971.
Today the secular Bangladesh that was born from the ashes of 1971 is under threat. It is under threat from the same anti-liberation forces that helped perpetrate the genocide of 1971. The future of a secular Bangladesh hangs in the balance today. In 1971, Bangladeshis learned the evils of both racism and religious extremism. It is a lesson we forget at our own peril. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Rediff Special/ Mashuqur Rahman
The demons of 1971
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->On December 16, 1971 the Pakistan army in Bangladesh formally surrendered. At the cost of three million dead the nation of Bangladesh was born. It was the most concentrated act of genocide of the 20th century.
Thirty-five years after the birth of the nation, many have forgotten the sacrifices of those who are no longer with us. But for those of us who survived, for our parents who kept us safe through the months of terror, there is no erasing the horrors of 1971.
Bangladesh today has yet to exorcise the demons of 1971. Many of the Razakars who collaborated with the Pakistan army and murdered countless Bengalis have today returned to Bangladesh. Some of the Razakar leaders from 1971 today lead the Jamaat-e-Islami party. Still others live freely in the United Kingdom and the United States. None of these Razakars have yet to face justice for the crimes they committed in 1971.
Today the secular Bangladesh that was born from the ashes of 1971 is under threat. It is under threat from the same anti-liberation forces that helped perpetrate the genocide of 1971. The future of a secular Bangladesh hangs in the balance today. In 1971, Bangladeshis learned the evils of both racism and religious extremism. It is a lesson we forget at our own peril. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->