Bangladeshi expats in Korea ask their gov’t to bring 1971 war criminals to justice

About 40 Bangladeshis called on their government to bring the 1971 war criminals to justice and give them maximum punishment in their gathering  at the Korea National University of Transportation (KNUT) in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, on Sunday (Mar. 24, 2013) on the occasion of celebrating Bangladesh’s 42nd Independence Day.

Group photo of participants in front of KNUT's administration building (Photo: Jakir Hasan)

Similar events were held simultaneously in 40 cities on 5 continents including New York, Sydney, London, Tokyo and Capetown to pay homage and demand justice for victims of the 1971 Genocide and War Crimes in Bangladesh. The same banner was used at each event.

The Chungju event began at 12pm with the Bangladeshi National Anthem. Then, Prof. Lee Yong-kyu of KNUT welcomed all the participants. “I have visited Bangladesh and supervised over several Bangladeshi MS and PhD students. I have seen many opportunities over there. I can see dreams and inspiration in your faces. I hope Bangladesh will be doing better when you return to your country,” said Lee.

KNUT Professor Lee, Yong-kyu giving welcoming speech (Photo: Jakir Hasan)

Md. Iqbal Mahmud Chanchal, a PhD student at Kongju National University, gave a presentation on the history of Bangladesh. Then the participants expressed their opinions and concerns during a discussion.

Laila Fatema-Tuz Zohora Jui, a Korean language school at KNUT, promised that she would provide every possible facility to her son to learn the real history of Bangladesh, as the war criminals continuously try to cover or distort the history of the Liberation War.

Tamim Mosaiab, a KNUT PhD student, explained  even though the war criminals were able to expand their activities due to the unconsciousness of major political parties during the last 40 years,  the whole nation is now conscious enough and is demanding maximum punishment of the criminals as soon as possible.

“We demand not only maximum punishment for the war criminals, but also to ban their political activities from Bangladesh,” said Mobinul Islam, also a  PhD student at the same school.

Sakura Sikander Risha, a assistant manager at Dawonsys Co Ltd, Ansan, added that the Jamaat-e-Islami party’s financial sources should be frozen by the government to stop their illegal activities in Bangladesh.

Md Nafiujjaman, another KNUT PhD student, said that his grandfather was killed by the Pakistan army and their Bangladeshi collaborators.

Pradipta Vaskar Biswas, a researcher at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute emphasized the importance of the present protest and reminded everyone that it was initiated by a group of bloggers in Shahbag Bangladesh.

All participants took an oath to continue protesting until their demands were met. These demands are as follows: (1) justice for 1971 war victims, (2) maximum punishment for war criminals, (3) standing up against religious persecution, (4) standing up against political violence, (5) a pledge towards a plural, humane nation, (6) condemning minority violence, and (7) denouncing terrorism.

Participants taking part in oath (Photo: Jakir Hasan)

“The participants expressed satisfaction, saying that the event exceeded their expectations. Some 70 people watched the event through live broadcasting, ” said Md. Nurunnabi, a PhD student at KNUT and one of the main organizers of the event.

Nurunnabi said many people could not attend the event as Chungju is a small, remote city with a  very small Bangladeshi population. Therefore, they wish to organize their next  event in Seoul or Daejeon.

For more information, view the broadcast of the event at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/30308539.