Former President
Pervez Musharraf, the first army ruler to visit Bangladesh, tried to meet the
Bangladesh demand half-way in 2002. He termed the 1971 atrocities as
"excesses', which, he said, were "unfortunate' and "regrettable.
On his arrival
in Dhaka on July 29, Musharraf first visited the national memorial at Savar, on
the outskirts of Dhaka, to pay homage to the liberation war heroes. He wrote in
the visitors' book at the memorial: "I bring sincere greetings and good wishes
from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for their Bangladeshi brethren and
sisters. We wish this land and its people peace, progress and prosperity". The
Pakistani leader continued: "Your brothers and sisters in Pakistan share
the pain of the events of 1971. The excesses during that unfortunate period are
regrettable. Let us bury the past in a spirit of magnanimity. Let not the light
of the future be dimmed. Let us move forward together. I am confident that with
our joint resolve Pakistan-Bangladesh friendship will flourish in the years to
come".
A section of the
Bangladesh media projected these remarks as something as close as possible to a
"formal apology" and argued that there was "no reason now" for Bangladesh "to
remain antagonistic". As if cashing in on "the opening', he said at the state
banquet: "My brothers and sisters in Pakistan share with their fellow brothers
and sisters in Bangladesh profound grief over the parameters of the events of
1971. As a result of this tragedy a family having common religious and cultural
heritage and united by a joint struggle for independence and a shared vision of
the future, was torn apart. We feel sorry for this tragedy and the pain it
caused to both our peoples".
Khaleda Zia
government of the day appeared satisfied. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia responded:
"Thank you, Mr. President, for your candid expression on the events of 1971.
This will, no doubt, help mitigate the old wounds".
Morshed Khan,
then foreign minister, elaborated thus: "We don't want to embarrass a guest by
discussing issues like an apology for the 1971 war situation. It is the spirit
of the people of the two countries that will decide that." he said. With Jamaat as a constituent of the ruling
coalition, neither Khaleda nor Morshed Khan could have said anything else.
Veteran
Bangladeshi journalist, Haroon Habib says: "...while his predecessors tried to
shift the blame for the barbaric acts on the military or upon a few
"generals", Musharraf had gone a step forward by expressing regret
for the events. However, he failed to pay due honour to the history that
separated the two wings of Pakistan, overshadowing the pervasive influence of
the two-nation theory of 1947.
By accepting,
not avoiding, the truth of history in good grace, as Habib points out, Musharraf
made a rapprochement possible between Pakistan and the erstwhile East Pakistan.
The scars left behind by the war of independence are deep and cannot be erased
easily. While time certainly is the biggest healer, a gesture like formal,
unconditional public apology from Pakistan will heal the wounds and mollify the
people of Bangladesh, who have proved sceptics like Henry Kissinger wrong, by
braving all odds to carve out a place under the sun.
(* This comment first appeared on Poreg, web site of Policy Research Group)
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