War rape victims should get highest gallantry award
Female victims of war rape should be awarded the highest gallantry award of the country for their contribution to the Liberation War, said participants of a workshop of the Liberation War Museum yesterday.
They made the request at the closing ceremony of the eight-day long winter school of the Centre for the Study of Genocide and Justice, Liberation War Museum.
The workshop was held at Proshika Human Resource Development Centre in Manikganj.
The forty participants, consisting of academics and professionals, also vowed to initiate a movement to try the 195 prisoners of war who were handed over to Pakistan through the tripartite agreement among Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Welcoming their decision, special guest Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, academician and popular writer, expressed his willingness to extend his support to such an initiative with documents and evidence of his father's killing by the Pakistani occupation force in 1971.
Regarding the trial of the local collaborators, he said, “There might be many criticisms of the present government concerning different issues, but we all should support the government in conducting trials of the war criminals.”
War heroine Ferdousi Priyabhashini, who was the chief guest at the programme, presented certificates and three special awards to the participants for best academic excellence, performance and role playing in a non-judicial hearing.
The winter school included lectures on genocide, justice, transitional justice, witness and victim protection and support, visit to a battlefield and place of occurrence of genocide, screening of documentaries on the Liberation War and related issues, cultural performance and group exercise on each of the areas.
Local and international experts, academicians on genocide and international criminal laws, prosecutors and investigators of the International Crimes Tribunals took classes on various matters related to genocide and its prevention and justice.
Liberation War Museum trustees Sarwar Ali and Mofidul Hoque, and prosecutor Tureen Afroz was present.
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