On March 25, 1971, Pakistan Army launched ‘Operation Searchlight,’ wherein a planned military operation was carried out by the Pakistani Army and its military deliberately harmed hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi citizens. Rights group says the horrors of 1971 are considered one of the worst mass atrocities in history.
The damage they inflicted can be described in the following numbers. As many as three million people were believed to have been killed, up to 200,000 women were violated and over 10 million people were forced to cross the border to India to seek shelter.
Moreover, highlighting the great importance and an absolute necessity to honour the victims of genocide and their descendants, speakers at an international conference in Hague have demanded international recognition of the Bangladesh genocide that took place during March-December 1971.
The demand came during an international conference titled, ‘Bangladesh: Justice after genocide’ held at Leiden University in the Hague on Thursday. It was organized by Europe based Bangladeshi diaspora organization European Bangladesh Forum (EBF) in collaboration with the Leiden University UNICEF Student Team the Hague and SESA (Southeast and South Asian) Club by CIROS (Community of International Relations and Organisations Students).
A total of around 72 participants, mostly university students from different universities in the Netherlands joined the conference. They took part in the discussion during the two Q and A sessions.