Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem has called on the British government to recognize the killing and repression of Bangladeshi people by the Pakistani army and their local collaborators in 1971 as genocide.
Saida made the request at a special event organized by the High Commission commemorating Martyred Intellectuals Day in London on Wednesday.
“The Pakistan army and their local collaborators tried to turn Bangladesh into an intellectually bankrupt nation by killing hundreds of intellectuals in 1971,” she said.
The diplomat said that besides punishing the killers, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also taken various initiatives to let the people know about what happened on December 14 in 1971.
“We, the Bangladesh High Commission in the UK, are implementing these initiatives to make the British people aware of this dreadful massacre,” said Saida.
Dr Meghna Guhathakurta, daughter of slain intellectual Dr Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, Asif Munier, son of slain intellectual Munier Chowdhury, and Shomi Kaisar, daughter of Shahidullah Kaisar, joined the event virtually from Dhaka.
