International Crimes Strategy Forum (ICSF) has criticised the organisers of “London Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict” as the issue of sexual violence committed against Bangali women during 1971 Liberation War have not been included in the summit.
ICSF, an Independent global network of activists, experts and academics supporting the international crimes tribunal, came up with the criticism in a statement issued on Monday where Ahmed Ziauddin, Rayhan Rashid, M Sanjeeb Hossain, and Muhsina Farhat Chowdhury signed.
The summit is scheduled for June 10-12.
The London-based ICSF said the decision to exclude the Bangladesh experience is one we can not support.
In the statement, the signatories said it is their responsibility to remind the organisers of the summit that the sacrifices of Bangali women during the war were one of the goriest of the last century.
It says: “Our questions to the organisers are unambiguous and simple: Were the stories of sufferings of countless Bangali girls and women during 1971 not worth telling at the global summit? Don’t the victims of sexual violence deserve to be recognised and rehabilitated by the world community?”
However, the organisers of the summit had claimed that it was “the largest gathering ever brought together” with a view to creating “irreversible momentum against sexual violence.”
Successful programmes and policies from around the world will be shown in the summit. Events will include film showings, performances, exhibitions and panel discussions.
Mentioning historical atrocities and crimes that were committed by the occupying Pakistani military and its local auxiliaries against Bangali people, ICSF reminded the organisers of the summit of “overwhelming scale and magnitude” the sexual violence committed against Bangali women during the war.
It says:“rape and other forms of sexual violence was used as weapons of war.”
It also mentioned reported incidents in the international media at the time. Reportedly, around 200,000 women had been raped by Pakistani soldiers.
It also observes: Although, the charges and verdicts against the war crimes accused did not shed specific focus on the targeted raping and killing of Bangali women during 1971 war, some of the accused -- Delwar Hossain Sayedee and Abdul Quader Molla -- were found guilty by the tribunal of committing rape as a crime against humanity.