Case Study by: Christie Rosengren, Jessie Patterson, Lara Carpenter, Louisa Matheny, Nathan Toenjes
Introduction
The small tropical country of Bangladesh is the result of a bitter civil war that divided the country of Pakistan into two nations. The violence of this war is rated as one of the top 5 genocides in the twentieth century by The Guinness Book of Records. Mass murder committed by the Pakistani Army against millions of Bengalis led to East Pakistan seceding from the West and the beginning of Bangladesh in December 1971.
When the countries of Pakistan and India were first formed, there was an East and West Pakistan drawn on either side of India. These two newly formed Pakistani provinces were created for the Muslim …show more content…
The Geneva Conventions are a series of international treaties that protect the human rights of soldiers and civilians during war. It’s an agreement that during the war the sick and wounded have neutral status. It also requires humane treatment, adequate feeding, and the delivery of relief supplies. The taking of hostages and torturing them is also not allowed. In 1973 the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) was established to address crimes that took place during the War of liberation of Bangladesh. The ICT virtually did nothing until 2008 when Sheik-Hasina, current Prime Minister ran a campaign to bring the war criminals to justice. In 2009 a resolution for a speedy trial was requested and passed, with slight changes later in the year. Finally, in mid-2010, The ITC ruled six individuals guilty. They were arrested, though there still have been no charges brought to date.
Even though Several West Pakistani Army officers, involved in the war, admitted to large scale atrocities by force, and deeply regret any crimes that were committed, to this day Pakistani government refuses to officially apologize for the genocide and killings of the Bangladeshi people. This shows they felt justified with no remorse for what they