On Thursday, 25 October 2007, Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mujahid stood before the Election Commission and put forth lies about the Liberation War and Genocide of 1971. On behalf of the Sector Commanders Forum, we reject these lies and demand his arrest and trial. We also demand the punishment of their advisor Mr. Shah A. Hannan who, while explaining the Jamaat stand, called the 1971 war a 'civil war' and thus denied the Liberation War and the people's sacrifice for independence. We demand their punishment because they have fallen into treason by denying the existence and Constitution of Bangladesh. Their declarations are part of a shameful effort to obliterate our national pride and identity. As a result, an extensive section of the people have been emotionally assaulted and there is a possibility that the resulting mass discontent will lead to a breach in the country's peace and stability.

In order to create unrest in the country and foil the Election Commission's registration plans, the killers of 1971 and accomplices of the Pakistani war criminals are loudly shouting that there are no war criminals in today's Bangladesh and there were not any even in 1971. They also claim that the war in 1971 was a 'civil war.' In this way they have trampled on the history of the nation, the country, and our armed forces. By showing disrespect to the three million martyrs of Bangladesh, these hateful criminals who roam free because of the absence of justice are trying to prove our memory, freedom memorials, and eternal flame as a mean joke, and through this they are arrogantly attempting to denigrate the country in the world scene.

In reality the genocide that occurred in 1971 was the result of a monstrous plan. We call for the trial, under an emergency basis, of those representatives of the Jamaat e Islami, Nizam i Islami and Muslim League who were involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity as loyalists of this plan.

In 1971, the Pakistani military murdered Bengalis for being Bengalis, eliminated Hindus for being Hindus. And the local accomplices of the foreign enemy followed their masters and,  embracing their depraved outlook and selfishness, took part in genocidal crimes like murder, rape, and torture. For this reason it has been clearly established that in 1971 genocide was carried out according to the universally accepted understanding of the concept.

"In 1971 the Pakistani war criminals and their accomplices organized 53 types of crimes on this country's soil. In broad terms, they committed 17 types of war crimes, 13 types of crimes against humanity, and four types of genocide-related crimes. At that time in the context of widespread murder and torture, 5,000 killing fields were prepared. Among them, the War Crimes Fact Finding Committee has been able to locate 920 such execution grounds. In addition 88 rivers and 65 bridge culverts were identified where hundreds of ordinary Bengalis were systematically killed without trial." (Source: WCFCC research) From this one can get a sense of the scale and depth of the killings and the numbers of those who died in the mass murders. If 70% of the martyrs' bodies had not floated away in the rivers and waterways, it cannot be imagined how many mass graves there might have been.

On 9 December 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 260 (3) that declared genocide as a punishable crime that every state is bound to resist. Genocide was defined as such actions through which attempts have been or are made to eliminate -- fully or partly -- a nation, religious community or ethnic group.

According to this definition, genocide is not limited to murder. According to part 2 of Resolution 260(3), those actions that count as genocide are:

1. The murder or elimination of members of a nation or community as part of a plan to destroy them.
2. Bodily or psychologically harming such people in order to eliminate them.
3. In a planned way to create such a life-threatening situation that a nation is partly or wholly destroyed.
4. To take such measures that members of a nation or community are not only prevented from living their lives but also their births prevented so that their life cycle is brought to an end.
5. To remove the children of a nation or community and erase their birth and national identity is also considered genocide.

Investigations conducted in the period after the war led to identifying 195 Pakistani war criminals against whom there were accusations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. There is also an initial list of those members of the Razakar, Al Badr and Al Shams forces who assisted in perpetrating the war crimes.

Most of the leaders of today's Jamaat e Islami were accomplices of the Pakistani war criminals. In addition, many among the Nizam i Islami, Muslim League, and BD members assisted the Pakistanis and involved themselves in murder and other crimes against humanity. Through publishing statements in newspapers, many of them tried to delude the country's youth in the name of religion and carried out cruel murders. Outside the theatre of war, they  murdered intellectuals and other innocent ordinary and professional people. By instigating genocide and indiscriminate destruction they established themselves among the top criminals of 1971.

With this background, on behalf of the Sector Commanders Forum we demand that the 1971 killers and lackeys be declared ineligible for registration in the elections. We call for trials and boycotts of all those involved in 1971-related genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. In this context two letters with clear demands have been sent to the Chief Advisor and Chief Election Commissioner.

It is hoped that the government will take initiatives under national and international law to carry out trials for 1971-related war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. And to make this initiative successful we call for the unity of all freedom fighters and representatives of civil society. We are eager to see the united resistance of the people and freedom fighters to nullify the dirty plans of the 1971 killers.

To make this effective, we call on the people to identify the criminals at the grass roots, upazilla and district levels and to express their disgust for them through non-violent means. We also invite people to send us letters listing the names of the criminals and descriptions of their crimes.

To make the campaign to boycott the 1971 killers successful all over the country, we call on the print and electronic media to boycott them.

To make this programme of boycott successful, the nation's poets, writers, artists, theatre workers and all others active in the cultural realm are asked to mobilize their creative energies.

Because war crimes are among the most abominable offences, we hope to see clear initiatives on the part of all political parties to ban such criminals from politics. It is our hope that our people will loathe and reject all those who accept such criminals. Our people cannot accept such an insult to the nation. Everyone must understand that in today's world such criminals are not allowed anywhere to take part in politics. All those who support them will be looked upon as accomplices of their crimes.

To conclude we announce the decision to create a legal committee to prepare lawsuits by closely investigating the accusations of murder and torture in 1971. This committee will prepare cases based on a realistic judgement of the accusations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. This committee will provide assistance with confident arguments in trying the killers for violating the Constitution and trampling our national honour. The people's united efforts and firm undertaking will make us successful.

Let the consciousness of the Liberation War be immortal. Let Bangladesh be victorious.

Sector Commanders Forum