A government website of Cox’s Bazar Sadar upazila has been accused of containing flawed information about the country’s Liberation War.
The website reads that there had been some training camps, erected for the war, in Myanmar back in 1971.
But, freedom fighters and historians, rejecting the information, said there was no such camp in the bordering country.
The local upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) claimed to be unaware of the matter, while the district information officer said the information was divulged from the deputy commissioner’s office and they had no link to the website in question.”
A page called Muktijuddhe Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila (Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila in Liberation War) of the website says a motorcade of Pakistani forces with 1153 vehicles had entered into the tourist city on May 5, 1971.
Owing to fund crunch and other reasons, many a local organiser of Liberation War had been forced to take shelter in Myanmar, where they had geared up for the war in the training camps.
History, however, turns down the claim. According to historical records, the then Burmese government had declined to provide any kind of assistance to freedom fighters.
Professor Muntasir Mamoon of History Department at Dhaka University said their was no camp of the war heroes in Myanmar during the struggle for independence.
“The information of freedom fighters’ camps in Burma (now Myanmar) is totally flase. But, they (Burmese government) had given shelter to 50,000 refugees, after refusing to do so primarily. The refugees had to suffer immensely there though.”
Meanwhile, International Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor Rana Das Gupta termed the publication and circulation of such a misleading information out of carelessness as a crime.
“As an organisation from Chittagong for the war, I know that the refugee camps in Burma in 1971 were like prison cells and below the standard to live in. The activities of freedom fighters were also prohibited in the camps,” he recalled.
Sabbir Hossain, director of Muktijuddho e-Archive Trust, said it was unfortunate that a government website contained distorted information on Liberation War.
He said: “Burma, as a friend of Pakistan and China, did not have allow any such training camp inside its territory in 1971. Freedom fighters’ organisers –-Dr Fayezur Rahman, Dr Kamal A Khan, Ataur Rahman Kaiser and Advocate Nur Ahmad– had met Burmese representatives at Bolibazar in the bordering country on April 20, 1971 by crossing Naf River. But, the Burmese government refused to help freedom fighters in any way. Moreover, the Bangali refugee camps was no different from an open prison. Basically, the refugees had been kept confined there where all kinds of activities of freedom fighters were prohibited.”
When contacted, Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Pankaj Barua said: “There was no UNO in charge in the upazila for quite a long while. I have replaced the previous UNO after he had gone on a leave.“
After his attention was drawn to the matter of the flawed information on the upazila’s official website, Pankaj said: “I just came to know about the matter. Actions will be taken in this regard instantly.”
Interestingly, there was no correction or changes on the very page on the website, even five hours after the conversation with him.
On the other hand, Cox’s Bazar District Information Officer Nasir Uddin said: “We have no connection with the matter. The information is basically provided from the DC office, which also monitors the website. We did not give any input on the website. So, we are totally unaware of the matter.”
In his reply to a query about the information, Cox’s Bazar Additional Deputy Commissioner Mahidur Rahman also claimed to have little knowledge over the matter, saying he would take proper measures in this regard.
“Currently, I am busy with the Rohingya issue and the relief activities. I hope to look into the matter in a few days,” he said, expressing his surprise at the mention of training camps on the website.
(The article was first published on Bangla Tribune)
