London, April 21 (Special Correspondent/OurVoice): The European Bangladesh Forum (EBF), a platform of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Europe, has relentlessly continued campaigning at the European level demanding international recognition of genocide in 1971. As a follow up of the campaign, EBF will organise an international symposium on April 25 at 18:00 at Room BG01, Brunei Gallery Building, SOAS University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square WC1H 0XG.
The purposes of the symposium, among others, are to inform British and European politicians, policymakers, and academics to create awareness on this issue to press the demand. It may be mentioned that Britain played a significant role during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. During that period, Sir Peter Shore MP, the then Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, placed a motion in the UK parliament condemning the Pakistani atrocities in 1971 in Bangladesh. It may be recalled that more than 233 MPs later placed another motion seeking an end to the ‘Genocide’ in Bangladesh and the recognition of it as an independent nation.
Chaired by Ansar Ahmed Ullah, the symposium will be addressed, among others, by Chris Blackburn, Senior Journalist, UK, Harry van Bommel, former Member of Parliament in the Netherlands, Claudia Waedlich, Human Rights activist, Germany, Sk Md Shahriar Mosharraf, Minister, Bangladesh High Commission in London, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, Senior Fellow, Department of War Studies, King’s College, UK, and Prof Dr. Tazeen Murshid, Centre for Development Research and Cooperation (DRC-Global), Belgium.
Bangladesh’s genocide is one of the worst massatrocities witnessed in the 20th century. According to the Bangladesh Government, approximately three million people were killed, over two hundred thousand women were violated and ten million people were forced to cross the border and take shelter in India. Unfortunately, the Bangladesh genocide has today become a forgotten chapter in the history. EBF demands that the 1971 genocide should be recognised internationally to give justice to the victims of the atrocities. The London symposium will provide a platform for South Asian and European activists and policy makers to discuss the issue at length. The discussion will be live broadcast and remain available for wider audience from the Facebook and YouTube platforms of the British Bangla News TV and The New Sun Bangla Post.
