War Crimes Trial
PM asks judges to consider people’s aspirations
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday urged judges of the international crimes tribunals to ‘consider the aspiration of the people while delivering verdicts’ and vowed to do ‘everything to ensure the maximum punishment of war criminals.’
Hasina, also the leader of the house, said this speaking on a point of order in the parliament. She expressed solidarity with the ongoing Shahbagh protests that passed the sixth consecutive day on Sunday pushing for death penalty for war criminals.
‘It is the tribunal which will dispose of the cases in line with the law. Even after that, I ask them to consider people’s aspirations in giving verdicts,’ Hasina said.
Congratulating the youths, Hasina said, ‘Their vow and each of their demands are very much logical. We support them and will do whatever is needed to fulfil their aspirations.’
‘We also want that the accused are given the maximum punishment. We all express solidarity with you [youths protesters at Shahbagh],’ she added.
The prime minister said that the government would amend the ICT law to enable the prosecution to appeal against the verdict.
Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, called on all to cooperate with the government to execute final verdicts against the war criminals.
She proposed to call the Shahbagh crossing ‘Tarun Prajanma Square’ (New Generation Square) as she said that there was a ‘smell of Pakistan’ in the name of Shahbagh.
The prime minister praised the youths for their ‘unprecedented role’ and said that she would now ‘die in peace’ after being assured that ‘razakars’ (collaborators) would get no place in Bangladesh which, she said, was manifested in the protests of the youths against the forces that worked against Bangladesh during the war in 1971.
After the prime minister’s speech, the speaker, Abdul Hamid, on behalf of the parliament expressed solidarity with the Shahbagh protests.
The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, earlier said that war criminals would be meted out the ‘maximum punishment’ (death penalty) in line with the ‘aspirations of the entire nation.’
Echoing several ruling alliance lawmakers who spoke before her, the agriculture minister, Matia Chowdhury, saluted the youths for their untiring protests that would ‘guide the trial onto the right track.’
Coming down heavily on opposition leaders for their ‘anti-trial remarks,’ the lawmakers demanded ‘exemplary punishment’ of leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party who ‘demanded dissolution of international crimes tribunals and are speaking against the tribunals.’
They also asked the government to take immediate steps to ban the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami saying as ‘the entire nation has now stood united against anti-liberation elements.’
The lone independent lawmaker, Fazlul Azim, however, asked the political parties not to ‘show curiosity’ about the Shahbagh protest as ‘it is in the real sense a people’s protest.’
He also asked why the process of war crimes trial ‘has been called into question’ and stressed ‘the need for keeping the trial free of politicisation and for ensuring international standards in the trial.’
He also asked ruling party lawmakers to visit Shahbagh instead of speaking in the parliament.
But the independent lawmaker could not finish his speech amid opposition by ruling alliance lawmakers that prompted him to walk out later when the speaker switched off his microphone.
The unscheduled debate began when treasury bench member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim stood up on a point of order and started speaking about the Shahbagh protests.
Citing a statement of the former Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association president Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, also an adviser to the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Selim said that Khandaker Mahbub had called for dissolution of the international crimes tribunal.
He said, ‘Khandaker Mahbub demanded the trial under the supervision of the United Nations dissolving the tribunals and other BNP leaders, including Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar, Mahbubur Rahman, are speaking against the tribunal.’
He said that any of them had neither taken part in the independence war nor gone to India. ‘Mahbubur Rahman [BNP standing committee member] was a razakar [collaborator],’ he added.
‘Earlier Khaleda Zia had also demanded the release of war crimes suspects,’ he added.
Asking the BNP to stop hatching ‘conspiracy against the trial,’ the lawmaker said, ‘Those who are now speaking against the trial should be also be tried and meted out an exemplary punishment.’
Former law minister Abdul Matin Khashru said that the Shahbag protests ‘will strengthen the hands of the tribunals trying war criminals.’
Although AL lawmakr Tofail Ahmed and JP lawmaker Mujibul Haque Chunnu asked the speaker to pass a resolution expressing solidarity with the Shahbagh protests, the chief whip, Abdus Shahee, opposed it, resulting in no resolution being taken in this regard.
The state minister for housing and public works, Abdul Mannan Khan, Murad Hassan, Abdul Mannan, Tarana Halim, Chemon Ara Begum, Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Subed Ali Bhuiya, Zunaed Ahmed Palak, AKM Mozammel Haque, Tajul Islam and Israfil Alam , among others, spoke on the point of order.
The Workers Party of Bangladesh president, Rashed Khan Menon, and the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal executive president, Mainuddin Khan Badal, also spoke.
Courtesy of New Age
