Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi I read with astonishment and surprise an article published by the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star on Sunday. The article entitled “Why should we celebrate this verdict?” written by the newspaper's editor and publisher Mahfuz Anam, focuses on the verdict issued by Bangladesh's second war crimes tribunal on January 21. The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Abul Kalam Azad (Bachchu) to death in absentia in its first verdict on those who are accused of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. Anam says in the article: “There are millions of reasons why we should celebrate last Monday's verdict, the first against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in 1971. There are as many reasons to rejoice today as there are martyrs of the period, and as there were instances of rape, torture, burning of villages, looting, arson, arrests, etc.” The reason for my astonishment is not because of any conviction that such atrocities had not taken place but because of the fact that the list of perpetrators of these crimes was restricted to a number of persons who were detained only 40 years after these atrocities took place. None of these people were included in the list of those who allegedly committed war crimes under a law enacted in 1973 during the period of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founder of Bangladesh. As per the law, some 195 Pakistani soldiers were booked for committing war crimes. However, none of them were tried because they were part of the troops who surrendered to the Indian army and were then taken to India as prisoners of war. Later, they were pardoned under a tripartite agreement reached by Bangladesh with India and Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose words were the law in Bangladesh during that time, declared a general amnesty with his famous saying: “Let the world know how Bengalis can forgive.” It should be noted that none of the suspects now being tried by the Bangladesh war crimes tribunal, including the convicted Abul Kalam Azad, were among those detained for alleged collaboration with the Pakistan army. A separate law was issued for this and under the law more than 100,000 people were arrested but were later released, taking advantage of a public amnesty announced by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Had all of those who committed crimes against humanity, including Pakistani soldiers, collaborators and militia associated with the Awami League, been brought to justice, I would also have celebrated and rejoiced like Mahfuz Anam. If all the victims of atrocities and war crimes, including Bengalis, Pakistanis and Biharis had been provided with fair treatment during the time of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman itself, I would have been delighted and celebrated with Anam. Sheikh Mujib ruled the country peacefully and without any trouble from 1972 until his assassination in 1975.The entire file of war crimes was closed with an amnesty given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for all those involved, including Pakistani soldiers and their Bengali collaborators. There were several reasons that prompted him to pardon them, and these included the reason that he wanted to let the world know that Bengalis can forgive. Perhaps another reason was that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to close the page of the past and look to the future and build the nation with the endeavors of all its citizens. Similarly, his sagacity helped him realize that he could not try those who committed crimes against Bengalis without trying members of his own party's militia for their crimes against Biharis. Therefore, reviving the war crimes law file that was closed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, misusing it to try the ruling party's political opponents and those associated with them, and celebrating the verdict against Abul Kalam Azad, all amount to doing offense to the memory of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and denouncing him. It is also tantamount to accusing Sheikh Mujib of ignoring the rights of war crimes victims as well as women who were victims of rape about whom Anam wrote in detail in his article. This also virtually amounts to denouncing Hindu friends, without whom independence for Bangladesh would have been impossible, who decided to take the defeated Pakistani troops to their country, including 195 officials who were accused of committing war crimes. I would prefer that Anam neither celebrate nor rejoice without genuine reason and justification, and that he would instead follow the path of his father who worked first for the creation of Pakistan and then for Bangladesh. His father later devoted himself fully to strengthening and developing the new nation as well as safeguarding its Islamic character. I also wish that Anam would not celebrate and rejoice over the announcement of a verdict in absentia from a court, which calls itself an international one but does not abide either by international laws or conventions in trying those who are wrongly implicated in war crimes. This has been confirmed by global human rights bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Bar Association. In addition the British House of Lords asked the Bangladesh government to issue a formal invitation to a delegation of lawyers from the House to view the trial proceedings of those accused of war crimes, but the request was not answered. Anam should not forget that the verdict was delivered in absentia and that there was no separate lawyer to appear for the defendant, in addition to the fact that the lawyer whom the court appointed was not specialized in dealing with such cases. That lawyer was also a leader of the student's wing of the ruling party and his relations with the government remain strong. Apart from this, the lawyer did not produce even a single witness to testify for the defendant. Finally, I hope that Abul Kalam Azad will not have the same fate as Shukho Ranjan Bali who was kidnapped at the gate of the court when he appeared to present his testimony in favor of another defendant - Sheikh Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the famous preacher and prominent parliamentarian. And as yet Bali's fate is still unknown. — Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
