Call for recognition of nine months' atrocities as genocide

Speakers at a city programme said on Sunday the government should work effectively so that the atrocities carried out by the Pakistani occupation forces during the nine-month Liberation War are recognised as genocide by the international community, not only the March 25 ones, reports UNB.

The speakers came up with the demand at a discussion on 'Genocide of 25 March' organised by the National Press Club in the city on Sunday.

President of Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee Shahriar Kabir, the main speaker of the programme, said though February 21 and historic speech of March 7 received global recognition it will not be that much easy in the case of Genocide Day as there will be serious opposition from different countries, including Pakistan.

"United Nations has already declared December 9 as 'Genocide Day' and being a member country Bangladesh has also signed the protocol," he said adding that the proposal of recognising March 25 as International Genocide Day might get rejected amid opposition by majority countries.

"For this, the government should now focus on how the nine-month long genocide as well as March 25 one can get the global recognition", said Shahriar Kabir.