US: Bangladesh human rights body demands actions against perpetrators of 1971 genocide
May 22, 2022
Washington [US], May 22 : The members of the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) staged a protest outside the White House on Sunday demanding actions against the perpetrators of the 1971 genocide and asked for the extradition of five globally designated terrorists living in Pakistan.
The protestors said that Pakistan owes an apology to the people of Bangladesh for the largest single-day massacre carried out by the Pakistani Army in Bangladesh, exactly 51 years ago today.
Executive Director of HRCBM Priya Saha said that Pakistan is responsible for 3 million deaths and 400,000 rape victims.
"Still, nobody is held for this crime, and 195 Pakistanis were criminals, they are enjoying their normal life. We want the American government to put sanctions on Pakistan and the 195 criminals under Magnitsky act and uphold human rights across the world," she said.
Besides this, the protestors also demanded compensation for the 20 million refugees and their children, who were displaced by Pakistan during the genocide. They asked Pakistan to hand over the 195 criminals of the genocide, along with five globally designated terrorists living in the country, and asked the American government to put Magnitsky sanctions against them.
"We are here in memory of the Hindus, who were killed on May 20, 1971, in Chuknagar. Pakistan armies and its allied Islamists caused the genocide and killed 10,000 Hindus. We want our American government to take action against Pakistan and put sanctions and punish those criminals who caused this genocide. Pakistan and its army is causing terrorism all over the world. So we request the government to take action and uphold the ethos of humanity" another protestor said.
Chuknagar is a small business town located in Khulna district and very close to the India-Bangladesh border. In the early morning of May 20, the Pakistani soldiers, carrying light machine guns (LMGs) and semi-automatic rifles, opened fire on the civilians.
The incident took place fifty-one years ago on this day when the Pakistani Army carried out the largest single-day massacre in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) with the active participation of some Bangladeshi-origin Islamists (also called Razakars). The massacre is considered as one of the worst mass atrocities in history.
Ten thousand civilians, mostly members of the region's Hindu minority waiting to seek refuge in India, were believed to be killed in one day. Many women were raped before being shot, and their brutalized dead bodies were thrown into the Bhadra River.
