Bangladesh
Razakar List Experts say Razakar's list likely to be scrapped, government denies
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, 27 March 2024: The government's initiative to list Razakar has stalled. Concerned people think that this list is not happening anymore considering the real complex situation. Although the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs is still saying that they have not moved away from listing Razakar.
Officials of the Ministry of Liberation War and members of the National Freedom Fighters Council said that the first list published by the Ministry of Home Affairs was made in 1971 during the Liberation War. But it was shelved amid huge controversy. After all these years, if there is a new list of Razakars, the names of innocent people may be included in it, or the names of real Razakars may be omitted. Besides, identifying who was a Razaka and who wasn't after so many years is a very difficult task. Besides, some may be victims of political and mutual conflict at the field level. In this situation, the new list of Razakar can create a bigger controversy.
So the government is not interested in the new list. However, the Liberation War Affairs Minister had announced to finalize the list of Razakar by Independence Day. In this situation, the next steps may be taken after discussing with the Prime Minister about listing Razakar, said the concerned persons. People who cooperated with the Pakistani army in different parts of the country during the nine months of the Liberation War are commonly called Razakars. Two other organizations allied to the Pakistanis were Albadar and Alshams. They have helped Pakistanis in various misdeeds such as murder, rape, robbery, arson. But even after so many years have passed after the liberation war, they have not been listed.
On December 15, 2019, the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs published the list of 10 thousand 789 Razakars. However, it was alleged that the names of many freedom fighters were included in the announced list.
The list contains the names of two other people from Rajshahi, including the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal and language soldier Golam Arif Tipu, who were in favor of the liberation war. Criticism started all over the country. In the face of controversy, the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs suspended Razakar's list. The listing was removed from the website.
