Justice or revenge?

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set up in Bangladesh in 2010 by Prime Minister Hasina Wajid’s Awami League government, sentenced Abdul Quader Mollah, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader, to life imprisonment on February 5 for alleged ‘atrocities’ in a trial that reopened the wounds of the 1971 East Pakistan tragedy. In January the tribunal awarded death penalty in absentia to former JI activist Abul Kalam Azad in the first ‘war crimes’ trial verdict.

The ICT, a domestic body with no international oversight, is currently trying nine JI leaders, including its 90-year-old former chief Prof Ghulam Azam and two politicians belonging to Begum Khaleda Zia’s main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). All the detained, under-trial leaders and Islamic scholars denied charges of ‘genocide’, and accused the government of carrying out a witch-hunt.

Do these trials fulfil the demands of international justice and fundamental human rights? While the Bangladeshi government claims that the trials are fair and meet requisite international standards, many global human rights organisations have raised questions about the fairness, transparency and conduct of the tribunals.

Some of the flaws in the ICT process highlighted by war crimes’ experts included lengthy pre-charge detention of suspects, inability to challenge the jurisdiction of the tribunal or make interlocutory appeals, lack of presumption of innocence and lack of adequate protection for defendants and witnesses.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called these trials “deeply problematic, riddled with questions about independence and impartiality of judges and fairness of legal process”. As per the Asia director for the International Commission of Jurists, the process has been so flawed that it raises the question of whether it might be best not to have a trial at all.

In December 2012, the international media published contents of leaked lengthy communication between the former chairman of the tribunal Mohammed Nizamul Haq and a Brussels-based Bangladeshi human rights lawyer, which indicated unlawful collusion between the judiciary, the prosecution and the government to structure judgements and also indicated that there was undue pressure exerted to get quick verdicts. These transcripts led to Nizamul Haq’s resignation and dealt a serious blow to the credibility of the tribunal.

The ICT trials raise two fundamental questions. Is it legal and just to prosecute those patriotic East Pakistanis who resisted the dismemberment of Pakistan and faced the Indian armed-and-trained Mukti Bahini in the rightful defence of their country? Can these trials, which are perceived to have loopholes and are based on grossly exaggerated propaganda of 1971 related ‘atrocities’, deliver true justice?

In her ground breaking book, ‘Dead Reckoning- memories of 1971 Bangladesh war’, Sarmila Bose, in one of the first independent scrutiny of this conflict, rejects the common Indo-Bangladesh allegation of ‘genocide’ of three million Bengalis by the Pakistan Army as “nothing more than a gigantic rumour”, since it was not based on any authentic accounting or ground survey.

Based on Sarmila’s research of official records, interviews, ground surveys and the available evidence, she estimates with reasonable confidence that at least 50,000-100,000 people perished in the 1971 conflict , including combatant and non-combatant Bengalis /non-Bengalis, Hindus and Muslims, Indians and Pakistanis.

Sarmila Bose emphatically states that, while non-Bengali men, women and children were slaughtered in the ethnic violence unleashed in the name of Bengali nationalism, West Pakistani businessmen and army officers and their families – outnumbered and unarmed – too, were mercilessly killed.

What does Hasina Wajid wish to achieve through the ongoing trials? While the Awami League government, with its historical pro-Indian credentials, may be seeking revenge against those forces that opposed East Pakistan’s separation, it helps to fan anti-Pakistan sentiments and hatred amongst the younger post-1971 Bangladeshi generation.

In particular these trials – that surely enjoy tacit Indian support – present another opportunity to demonise the Pakistan Army and keep alive this emotive issue in the Bangladeshi public psyche.

The Awami League leadership needs to do some soul-searching. Will these trials lead to peace or cause deeper divisions and turmoil in the Bangladeshi society? Can Bangladesh afford greater polarisation between the country’s secular and Islamist forces? After 41 years of independence, is it wise to revisit the scars left by the 1971 civil war? Instead of seeking revenge why not follow the path of political reconciliation?

During Foreign Minister Hina Khar’s visit to Dhaka last November to formally invite Prime Minister Hasina Wajid to an Islamabad summit, her Bangladeshi counterpart reportedly sought an apology for alleged ‘war crimes’ committed by the Pakistan Army during the 1971 East Pakistan’s secession movement. Perhaps Sarmila Bose’s stunning revelations continue to be ignored in Bangladesh.

While Pakistan has always desired friendship and brotherly ties with the people of Bangladesh, the Awami League leadership would do well to keep closed chapters closed. It is time to move on and bury the bitterness of the past.

Should we forget our former Pakistani citizens in their hour of trial? A protest seminar was recently held in Lahore, presided over by former president of Pakistan, Justice (r) Rafiq Tarrar. The speakers called upon the Bangladesh government to stop victimisation of former East Pakistanis who campaigned and fought for united Pakistan.

The participants appealed to the government of Pakistan, the international community, the OIC, the United Nations and the International Human Rights Commission to intervene and help prevent travesty of justice through these ICT trials. While Turkish President Abdullah Gul wrote to his Bangladeshi counterpart, seeking clemency for those undergoing trials including the aging Prof Ghulam Azam, the Pakistani government remains indifferent – apparently out of diplomatic and political compulsions with not even one word of sympathy or support.

Should the Pakistani political leadership, human rights champions and the media continue with the silence that they have maintained over the trials?

The writer is a retired brigadier. Email: fhkhan54@gmail.com