The search for justice for 1971

THIRTY-seven years ago, they fought a war of independence on the political frontlines, on the social fault-lines and took up arms as a means of resistance. Today, the same generation, many united under the Sector Commanders Forum, has called upon itself to continue a task left incomplete despite the birth of the nation they struggled for.
Once on the frontlines of war, today, they have begun the frontline for seeking justice for human rights atrocities and demanding that these individuals culpable of unimaginable human suffering have no moral right to stand for public office and are not fit to govern the nation.
For more than three decades, the military victory in Bangladesh has rung hollow because of the desultory complacence and the systematic negligence to take advantage of key opportunities to cash in on the social, economic and political capital that could have been built with a vision that is inclusive and accountable.
Consequently, since its inception, Bangladesh has been a silent and often compliant witness, a mere by-stander to the transference of power from the hands of the rulers to many of the collaborators of 1971 with little going to the hands of the common woman and man of this country.
If independence has truly been enjoyed by anyone in Shadheen Bangladesh, it is not a stretch to state that a lion's share has been claimed by the war criminals and collaborators in all sectors of the country. Victory and independence became buzzwords, a mere symbolic gesture of glorifying the nation with little reflection on what accountable governance and citizen ownership of a political process can truly mean.
Beginning from the issuance of state sanctioned pardons to the nonchalance demonstrated by political leaders to the participation of the guilty in public office, the legal, political, moral and social fabric of this country have faced severe crises; yet, the absence of sustained political will and a desire to forget mainly by the political and economic elite have ensured the discussion of accountability has never been part of the public discourse.
Until now.
As the movement against participation of war criminals in the 2008 elections gathers momentum up until election day, it is important to inquire, how did, after thirty seven years, this level of consciousness develop among the public across the whole nation?
Sometimes for a movement to begin and to reach fruition, all it needs is a spark, even if it is a negative one. Recently, at a public event, a statement was made by some prominent leaders that the war of 1971 was a civil war. While the definition of civil war itself does not undermine the independence struggle since civil war connotes a high intensity power struggle between a state and domestic political actors resulting in a high level of casualties, the use of the term was politically loaded and interpreted by many to as an attempt to minimise a struggle that engulfed a whole nation.
Some of the loudest voices decrying the depiction of 1971 as simply a "civil war" came from many of the sector commanders who had provided leadership during the independent struggle. Beyond verbal protests, this depiction became the pivotal point for action, planting the seed for the Sector Commanders Forum and involving the participation of many who actively participated in the struggle for freedom.
Today, the larger forum associated with the sector commanders and their struggle comprises professors, artists, columnists, talk show organisers, editors, journalists, families of shaheeds, cultural activists, lawyers, students, and freedom fighters. The core principle of the forum was established to be the trial of war criminals. With this purpose and starting at the end of 2007, the members began calling for a series of open discussions to garner people's concerns and encouraged the involvement of the media to begin the process of exchanging views about the issue of accountability for the past.
Members of the Sector Commanders Forum, many of them in the late sixties and seventies, have taken it upon themselves to travel the country, often to and through difficult terrains, to divisional headquarters, cities and upazillas to speak to five groups of people -- teachers, students, cultural activists, women activist groups, and freedom fighters and to listen to their voices and perspectives on 1971.
In addition, they also began the task of visiting killing fields and met with families who lost their loved ones. Other symbolic nation wide events have included a national convention on March 29, candlelight vigils on December 14 in 2007 and 2008 and a rally on December 24 from Shaheed Minar to Muktangon for raising awareness about the demand for war criminals and to protest their participation in the coming elections.
As of writing of this article, the forum is taking advantage of the last day of the permitted period of the election campaigns, that it December 27, and has traveled to Sherpur to continue their work on raising awareness about war criminals' participation in the political process and encouraging people to protest their running for public office.
If the nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the atrocities committed in 1971 is successful through the people's movement of saying no to the participation of the war criminals in the 2008 elections, it will be a testimony of the successful and strategic measures taken by all those who have been intimately involved in the process of creating awareness and creating the foundation for a demand for a war crimes trial since the day the war of independence was framed as a civil war.
It is a testament to the strength of people's will to mobilise, organise, and lend voice to create a crescendo of denial to those who feel they have the right to govern by virtue of who they are, in terms of the political might and economic backing. Most of all, it is testament to the fact that the horrors of 1971 have not been buried, lost or forgotten; rather all it needed was a little reminder and some leadership to bring the discussion of accountability and culpability back into the public discourse.
As we head to the elections of 2008, with an expectation that Bangladesh can once again deliver some hope to its people, it is important to also recognise the shoulders of giants we stand on, and the systematic failures that drew the curtain over the contributions of many of the individuals who could have provided strong leadership for a country we claim as ours.
The movement for vetting war criminals using ballot boxes is a humble reminder that the past was never adequately dealt with; that freedom is not merely achieved through the redrawing of political borders; that the people of this country are hungry for moral and inspirational leadership, not just political rhetoric, and that there is still space for those who were resigned to the fate of the nation to step forward and work with the new generation to promote a transparent, accountable political system.
Thirty seven years after they laid down their arms, the members of the Sector Commanders Forum have come forward, despite politicking, criticism, fear and distrust to provide some direction about the fate of the country.
As the next generation of this country who face a different set of challenges in the shape of religious radicalism, persecution of religious minorities, marginalisation of indigenous populations, corruption and morally decrepit political leadership, we need to ask where the next frontier of liberation is and whether we are willing to go the distance.

Tazreena Sajjad is a member of the Drishtipat writes' collective.