A civil society group consisting of 41 personalities has called on the government to respond to the International Criminal Court (ICC) request to submit facts about Rohingyas and its views over the jurisdiction of ICC to hold Myanmar accountable.
Shireen P Huq, a women’s rights activist and founder member of Naripokkho, told the Bangla Tribune, “We have today (Sunday) submitted a statement to the foreign ministry, signed by 41 personalities who called on the government to respond to the ICC request.”
Bangladesh also faced similar situation in 1971 when over 10 million Bangladeshis took shelter in India and it should not be mum when another community is brutally tortured by some military force, she said.
The statement was addressed to the foreign secretary, said Shireen, also a signatory to the statement.
“Bangladesh has an obligation to make Myanmar accountable for the atrocities they committed to the Rohingya people,” she added.
The joint statement said “We urge the government of Bangladesh to respond to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s request for observations and to support the view of the Prosecutor that the Court may assert jurisdiction against Myanmar. This will be an important first step in ensuring justice for the victims of the crimes against humanity that have occurred in Myanmar and a significant action for us to take as a people and a nation that has suffered horrific war crimes during our liberation war of 1971, which went unaddressed for too long.”
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision of May 7 has been made in response to the Apr 9 request by the ICC prosecutor, seeking a ruling on whether the Court has jurisdiction over the deportations of Rohingya people from Myanmar as a crime against humanity.
The statement also said that Bangladesh as a state party to the Rome Statute and a country which has its own history of having suffered war crimes and bringing those responsible to justice, must respond to this request.
Over 700,000 of the more than one million Rohingyas, who have been registered, entered Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar since 25 August last year.
Bangladesh has been compelled to address the humanitarian consequences of the deportation, and as such has an interest in providing information to ICC, the statement added.
Meanwhile, earlier a Myanmar dissident voice, Maung Zarni, said, Bangladesh should respond positively to the ICC Pre-Chamber’s request
“Bangladesh’s decision here is extremely crucial both in practical term and in terms of historical significance in the practice of international law and in pursuit of justice and accountability,” he said in an email response.
“Bangladesh is a country that emerged from the genocidal ashes of the Liberation War of 1971 whose past wounds have not been properly acknowledged or recognised by the international legal system or public opinion as crimes against humanity, or genocide,” he said.
Maung Zarni was of the view that Bangladesh should ensure that the international crimes which Rohingyas have suffered for too long are accounted for and the perpetrators are brought to the ICC.
“It is in Bangladesh’ long-term national interests to end this cycle of the neighbour’s genocidal persecution of Rohingyas inside Myanmar,” he said.