A disgraceful chapter in the history of civilization is called genocide. Just as human beings have enriched themselves with knowledge and intellect and kept the signature of merit at every level of excellence, they have not hesitated from committing brutal acts for the sake of personal gain, greed, or jealousy. 

It is a matter of relief that over time, many people have realized that just as war can never bring peace, no civilized state can support genocide. We have seen two significant developments in this regard. 

Germany apologizes to Namibia

First, the German government acknowledged that genocide took place in Namibia during colonial rule. Germany has apologized to the people of Namibia and the heirs of those who fell victim to the mass killings. This happened from 1894 to 1915 when Namibia was under German rule. Namibia was then called German South-West Africa.  

For a while, Namibia had been pressurizing Germany to confess to having committed genocide and pay compensation. After five years of negotiations, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas formally acknowledged that genocide had taken place. Germany agreed to pay 1.1 billion euros in compensation. The money will be spent on education, health and other infrastructural development of Namibia. The German President will visit Namibia and formally apologize to its people. 

France tells sorry to Rwanda

Also, France has apologized for the horrific genocide of 1994 in their former colony Rwanda. Rwanda's civil war in 1994 killed at least 0.8 to 1 million people, most of them Tutsi community members. No French government has spoken out against France's role in the Rwandan genocide. Almost 27 years since the killings, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Kigali, the Rwanda capital, admitted the liability of the genocide, expressed his sorrow and apologized to the people. He attended a ceremony held in a cemetery built in memory of the genocide in Kigali, the burial site of 250,000 Tutsi victims. 

Even so many years after the horrific incidents, Germany and France have come to realize that killing innocents can never be acceptable. This deserves praise. 

Pakistan doesn't bother

On the other hand, it is a matter of great regret that the Pakistan government has not only failed to apologize for the brutal killings they committed in 1971 but they continue to act antagonistically. The genocide carried out by the Pakistani military in 1971 was much more brutal and barbaric. The Pakistani onslaught was in no way meant to suppress 'separatists' but was an attack to deprive the people of their democratic rights and to derail the electoral mandate of the people of then East Pakistan.  

According to a report of UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Commission) in 1981, among all the genocides committed in the history of mankind, the highest number of people killed in the shortest amount of time was in East Pakistan in 1971. On average, 8,000-12,000 people were killed every day in East Pakistan before it broke away and became Bangladesh. The number of casualties on the first night of the military crackdown was at least 35,000. Killings at Chuknagar claimed over 10,000 lives.

According to a New York Times report of March 26, 1971, the death toll that day was 10,000. According to a 1971 Sydney Morning Herald, the fatalities from March 25 to 29 (just five days) was about 100,000. It put the number of deaths per day at about 20,000. Then Soviet daily Pravda published a story of three million killings in Bangladesh in December 1971.  

The point is that the 1971 massacre by Pakistan was one of the most horrific in global history. Yet Pakistan has not realized its inhuman folly. They are indifferent to the genocide. In addition, Islamabad continues to lie about the killings through its agents at home and abroad. 

It is time to force Pakistan, which is immersed in bigotry and militancy, to apologize. That is why the barbarism of Pakistanis should be highlighted in various forums worldwide. As long as Pakistan does not apologize, the episode will remain a blot on mankind. 

(The writer is a columnist and activist in Bangladesh. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on fbzahir@gmail.com)