THE year 2007 was the most significant for Bangladesh after our liberation on December 16, 1971. The 35 years of chaos and confusion reached a crescendo towards the end of 2006. Although we have not seen the end of it all yet, we can only pray and hope we don't have to see such ruthless violence in the near future as witnessed in October 2006.
All said and done, our political forces talk about democracy -- but in practice it is autocracy and totalitarianism. As a result, to meet their goals or demands, they are more comfortable in using the politics of streets and violence rather than the parliament. This has resulted in the people being totally disgusted with politicians and the political system.
This is the sad part of our history that when democracy is only in an embryonic stage, being merely 15 years old, there is already apathy with large segments of the public about politics, the system, and the value of democracy.
All our values that came with our thousands of years of heritage, culture, history is being drowned in the degradation of our society which has become overcome with greed for power and money, nepotism, intolerance, perversions, intellectual bankruptcy, socio-political degradation, and so on and so forth.
I know I am drawing a very negative picture but look deep down into our society and you can see where we have ended ourselves in. We have reached the bottom of the pit and burnt the ladder to get out. This is all our own doing and we cannot point the finger at anyone else.
It is most unfortunate that even after 36 years of independence we are still struggling to put our history in the right perspective. Although most of the freedom fighters are still alive, we as a nation have not bothered to set the records right, instead they have been used to serve the interest of power hungry leaders and their cronies.
The new generation is being deprived of knowing the glorious history of our liberation struggle, which would, definitely imbue them to become patriots and dedicate to serve the nation.
The present leadership in power has called for national unity to build Bangladesh as a prosperous nation. This can be achieved when we tell our children the true history of our liberation war which will teach them the sacrifice the freedom fighters made for us to be citizens of a free nation.
Since our independence we have been like nomads, and the nation, as a whole, had neither a direction nor a vision. As a result we have engulfed ourselves in corruption, cronyism, and moral degradation that have made us politically, socially, and economically bankrupt.
After January 11, 2007, the nation has a whiff of fresh air and like a "second coming" looks forward to the rebirth of the nation to move towards building a "Golden Bengal" that the freedom fighters fought for. This can only be achieved if we get leaders with the right vision to move forward and the belief in the Spirit of 71 which is that of sacrifice and selflessness to build a "Golden Bengal."
It is not only our moral obligation to the freedom fighters but also our moral obligation to those heroic sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence to commit us to build Bangladesh as a prosperous nation. As we fight to rid our nation of the corruption and evil forces that brought us to our knees we must not forget to punish those who opposed (Razakars, Al-Badr and Al- Shams) our national struggle for independence in 1971. It is important that the truth should be revealed and what happened in 1971 needs to be known not to look backward but for the nation to move forward. We must clear the ashes and debris from 1971 so that we can be reborn like a phoenix and fly to higher grounds.
The big question is how much of this expectation will turn into reality? We have a commission to wipe out corruption and investigate the corrupt, un-transparent Transparency International looking over our shoulders to report our corruption, the international community making sure we follow all the standards of human rights and democratic norms (what a joke), and so on and so forth.
This is all well and good, but what is important now for the nation to move forward is to raise the issues and bring to light the 1971 war crimes, crimes against humanity, the genocide, and other criminal activities that was perpetuated by the Pakistani military, Pakistani politicians, and Pakistani business troika with the collaboration of few Bengalis.
Those who were responsible have already been identified, but except for few Bengali collaborators none were tried. Even the trial of those people that began in 1973 under the Collaborators Act were abruptly stopped after the killing of Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman, and the accused including some who were tried and punished were pardoned on December 31, 1975.
Just like the crime itself, this pardon was another crime against humanity to add salt to the wound. The time has come for us to take up the thread and re-open the cases by setting up a tribunal and move towards making a plea to the International Criminal Court to try those Pakistanis who were responsible for the crimes in 1971. The wait has been too long, the families of the victims of 1971 have waited for the last 36 years, let us try to repay the debt by trying the perpetrators and murderers in national and international courts.
As we await for democracy to get rooted with a free and fair election, it is the expectation of all that the evil that dwells amongst us in the form of war criminals and "a legacy of blood that remains unpunished" should be immediately taken care of.
We can move forward if only we wipe out our horrible past by trying and punishing the perpetrators of the 1971 genocide. The time has come for our generation to solve this issue and not pass this burden of guilt to our next generations. It is our responsibility to complete the task we undertook in 1971 to free our motherland from the clutches of evil-doers. Now it is we who must complete that job which remains unfinished.
All said and done, our political forces talk about democracy -- but in practice it is autocracy and totalitarianism. As a result, to meet their goals or demands, they are more comfortable in using the politics of streets and violence rather than the parliament. This has resulted in the people being totally disgusted with politicians and the political system.
This is the sad part of our history that when democracy is only in an embryonic stage, being merely 15 years old, there is already apathy with large segments of the public about politics, the system, and the value of democracy.
All our values that came with our thousands of years of heritage, culture, history is being drowned in the degradation of our society which has become overcome with greed for power and money, nepotism, intolerance, perversions, intellectual bankruptcy, socio-political degradation, and so on and so forth.
I know I am drawing a very negative picture but look deep down into our society and you can see where we have ended ourselves in. We have reached the bottom of the pit and burnt the ladder to get out. This is all our own doing and we cannot point the finger at anyone else.
It is most unfortunate that even after 36 years of independence we are still struggling to put our history in the right perspective. Although most of the freedom fighters are still alive, we as a nation have not bothered to set the records right, instead they have been used to serve the interest of power hungry leaders and their cronies.
The new generation is being deprived of knowing the glorious history of our liberation struggle, which would, definitely imbue them to become patriots and dedicate to serve the nation.
The present leadership in power has called for national unity to build Bangladesh as a prosperous nation. This can be achieved when we tell our children the true history of our liberation war which will teach them the sacrifice the freedom fighters made for us to be citizens of a free nation.
Since our independence we have been like nomads, and the nation, as a whole, had neither a direction nor a vision. As a result we have engulfed ourselves in corruption, cronyism, and moral degradation that have made us politically, socially, and economically bankrupt.
After January 11, 2007, the nation has a whiff of fresh air and like a "second coming" looks forward to the rebirth of the nation to move towards building a "Golden Bengal" that the freedom fighters fought for. This can only be achieved if we get leaders with the right vision to move forward and the belief in the Spirit of 71 which is that of sacrifice and selflessness to build a "Golden Bengal."
It is not only our moral obligation to the freedom fighters but also our moral obligation to those heroic sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence to commit us to build Bangladesh as a prosperous nation. As we fight to rid our nation of the corruption and evil forces that brought us to our knees we must not forget to punish those who opposed (Razakars, Al-Badr and Al- Shams) our national struggle for independence in 1971. It is important that the truth should be revealed and what happened in 1971 needs to be known not to look backward but for the nation to move forward. We must clear the ashes and debris from 1971 so that we can be reborn like a phoenix and fly to higher grounds.
The big question is how much of this expectation will turn into reality? We have a commission to wipe out corruption and investigate the corrupt, un-transparent Transparency International looking over our shoulders to report our corruption, the international community making sure we follow all the standards of human rights and democratic norms (what a joke), and so on and so forth.
This is all well and good, but what is important now for the nation to move forward is to raise the issues and bring to light the 1971 war crimes, crimes against humanity, the genocide, and other criminal activities that was perpetuated by the Pakistani military, Pakistani politicians, and Pakistani business troika with the collaboration of few Bengalis.
Those who were responsible have already been identified, but except for few Bengali collaborators none were tried. Even the trial of those people that began in 1973 under the Collaborators Act were abruptly stopped after the killing of Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman, and the accused including some who were tried and punished were pardoned on December 31, 1975.
Just like the crime itself, this pardon was another crime against humanity to add salt to the wound. The time has come for us to take up the thread and re-open the cases by setting up a tribunal and move towards making a plea to the International Criminal Court to try those Pakistanis who were responsible for the crimes in 1971. The wait has been too long, the families of the victims of 1971 have waited for the last 36 years, let us try to repay the debt by trying the perpetrators and murderers in national and international courts.
As we await for democracy to get rooted with a free and fair election, it is the expectation of all that the evil that dwells amongst us in the form of war criminals and "a legacy of blood that remains unpunished" should be immediately taken care of.
We can move forward if only we wipe out our horrible past by trying and punishing the perpetrators of the 1971 genocide. The time has come for our generation to solve this issue and not pass this burden of guilt to our next generations. It is our responsibility to complete the task we undertook in 1971 to free our motherland from the clutches of evil-doers. Now it is we who must complete that job which remains unfinished.
Akku Chowdhury
Published On: 2008-06-01 The Daily Star
Published On: 2008-06-01 The Daily Star