Untold Facts

The UN and the Dhaka Trial of War Crimes

The UN and the Amnesty International have both stood clearly in their latest statements that in the Srilanka’s civil war both sides had perpetrated war crimes. The statements had nothing untruth as the 26 year long war had two sides fighting for their own cause that cost 70,000 lives lost and innumerable wounded apart from loss of properties on both sides. In such a war it is the only truth that there had also been excesses made by both sides. In fact, any war involving two sides fighting for their own cause cannot have human rights violations by only one side, but in reality, by both sides.

Unfortunately, in case of the 1971 civil war/independence of Bangladesh, the bandwagon is on that human rights violations had been perpetrated alone by the so called ‘anti liberation forces’ and not by the opposite side! Based on such wrong presumption viewed in tunnel vision and resorting all evil propaganda in almost all media in Bangladesh with rare exceptions having blessings of the present government coupled with huge volume of sycophancy that there had been human rights violations perpetrated by only one side and the other side or the pro-Bangladesh group had been angel like immune from any human rights violations. The other most unfortunate thing is that based on the wrong assumption and the propaganda that has poisoned the whole air with vicious hatred, the government has taken on to try the ‘war criminals’ based on their partial, incomplete and so partially wrong basis of presumption.

Now that the UN has rightly taken up the issue of BOTH SIDES’ violation of human rights in Srilanka, the world body cannot logically evade the relevant matters that has now been taking shape in Bangladesh under the cover of ‘War Crimes Trial’ that in all likely would be nothing but political witch hunting of the opponents for settling scores rather than solving any issue of national need and importance. The EU’s concern and insufficiency of fairness for the trial process not meeting the international standards as it was published in the Dhaka media on the 2nd June (09) should be a warning in the matter that many others interested in the matter have been keeping watch as to what the Government is up to.

Author: M.T. Hussain