Ghulam Azam defends 1971 role

A day after Ghulam Azam was sent to jail on war crimes charges, he defended his role during the Liberation War in a statement purportedly written by him beforehand.
Sent to the media from Jamaat-e-Islami's email account yesterday, the statement said he and political leaders like him would have joined the war if it had been conducted without Indian help.
Interestingly, Ghulam Azam, who left the post of Jamaat ameer in 2000, did not mention anywhere in the statement that he or his party had opposed the birth of Bangladesh.
On the contrary, he claimed, “I myself and other political leaders who could not participate in the 1971 Liberation War tried our level best to protect the people from the oppression of the Pakistan army at the time.”
In the statement, said to have been prepared before his arrest on Wednesday, Ghulam Azam claimed, “The way India showed its expansionist attitude toward this country between 1947 and 1970, we had firm belief that this country would be a subservient one if it became independent by taking India's assistance.”
“Therefore, some leftist, all rightist and all Islamic parties and almost all well-known Islam-oriented personalities did not think it appropriate to take part in the Liberation War with India's aid.”
Although the 12-page statement was composed on the Jamaat's pad, Ghulam Azam concluded by saying that it was his personal statement and had nothing to do with the Jamaat.
He claimed that all the 62 allegations brought against him were false, politically motivated and imaginary.
History says otherwise. Ghulam Azam was one of the front men to help the Pakistani occupation forces. He was hyperactive against the Liberation War and became a symbol of war crimes in Bangladesh.
He was ameer (chief) of East Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami before the war. Holding that position, he campaigned across Bangladesh and even in Pakistan (the then West Pakistan) against the independence movement.
"Pakistan is the house of Islam for the world's Muslims. Therefore, it is not justified for Jamaat activists to stay alive if Pakistan disintegrates," he said in a speech aimed at mobilising his party men and followers against Bangladesh, according to the Jamaat's mouthpiece, the daily Sangram, in 1971.