Intensive learning on genocide and justice

The Center for the Study of Genocide and Justice (CSGJ), Liberation War Museum (LWM) organised its 4th Winter School on 'Genocide, Prevention and Justice' from January 13-20, 2018 at Sheikh Hasina National Youth Centre, Savar with the participation of 33 students of various disciplines from 12 public and private universities.

Resident Instructors from Cambodia, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Bangladesh conducted the schooling. Julian Francis ('Friends of Liberation War' awardee); Mofidul Hoque (Director of CSGJ); Barrister Tureen Afroz (ICT-BD Prosecutor); Barbara Thimm (Advisor to Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum); Ram Bhandari (Nepalese Activist against State-led Enforced Disappearance); Fernando Antonio, Lucia Tilman and Aventino Ximenes (Policy Advisors on Genocide Prevention from Timor-Leste); Md. Abdul Hannan Khan (ICT-BD Chief Investigator) spoke in different sessions in this school.

In this week-long residential training, the participants have been given the opportunities to explore the concept of genocide by way of relative discussions, group exercises and presentations, documentary film screening, field trip, interaction with victims' family members, theatre play and non-judicial hearing.

This time, the 4th winter school focused on the ongoing issue of Rohingya crisis, prevention of genocide and emphasised on the sufferings of the Biranganas (War Heroines) and war babies and on comparative study on genocide and justice.

The participants visited a memorial place: Muljan High School, Manikganj. A task was given to the participant to interview young students of that school to collect oral history on the liberation war of 1971.

The participants received the certificates upon the successful completion of the school. Justice Obaidul Hassan (Judge at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Former Judge at ICT-BD) chaired as the Guest of Honour at the closing ceremony. Nadia Islam Nody from Jahangirnagar University received the Overall Performance Award, Farzana Rifat Siddique of East West University received Best Academic Excellency Award and the Best Performance Award in Non-Judicial Hearing were received jointly by Farzana Rifat Siddique of East West University and Sujana Sabrin of Bangladesh University of Professionals.

THE WRITER IS A STUDENT OF LAW, JAHANGIRNAGAR UNIVERSITY.