War Crimes
Call to involve 20 more expert lawyers to make trial a success
Rashed Khan Menon speaks at a national convention of the Workers' Party of Bangladesh at the auditorium of the city's Engineers' Institute yesterday.Photo: STAR
Writer Shahriar Kabir yesterday stressed the need for involving at least 20 more experts and skilled lawyers to carry out the trial of war criminals. "I don't undermine the present lawyers and experts but I think the War Crimes Tribunal needs at least 20 more skilled lawyers as we don't want to see a trial held perfunctorily," said Kabir, executive president of Secular Voice of Bangladesh. He was speaking at a national convention of the Workers' Party of Bangladesh titled "Trial of war criminals and restoration of 1972's Constitution", held at the auditorium of the city's Engineer's Institute, Dhaka. Chief guest at the convention, Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said the lack of experience of the government and the probe committee and lawyers involved with the War Crimes Tribunal was due to the fact that they are facing the matter for the first time. The minister, however, said the government is committed to try the war criminals. "We will go ahead and gain a new experience. Any obstacles or national and international conspiracy can not avert us from conducting the war crimes trial," said the minister. Kabir, also leader of Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, suggested the government to not linger the trial process. "If they (government) delay the process to gain an upper hand in the next election, it may boomerang against them," said Kabir. He claimed that followers of Jamaat-e-Islami are at every level of the administration. "The trial of Jamaat will not be possible if they (the followers) are not removed from the administration," he observed. Kabir called upon the government to restore the 1972's constitution within its tenure. "The trial of war criminals could not be possible if we mix all common problems (price hike, power shortage, water and gas crisis etc) with the War Crimes Tribunal," said Ashraful. Syed Ashraful Islam, also general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, mentioned that the constitution's revision is an extra task for the government as it was not included in their election manifesto. He said the government does not want to revise the constitution in a hasty manner as its past revision often brought curse upon the nation. Rashed Khan Menon, president of Workers' Party of Bangladesh, presided over the programme. Mentioning that the demand to try war criminals is not out of dangers, Menon, in his welcome speech, said Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP are formulating different strategies to hinder the War Crimes Tribunal. They (BNP-Jamaat) are trying to retain the 5th, 6th and 7th amendments, he claimed. Workers' Party of Bangladesh placed 10-point demands at the convention. The party called upon the government to take effective steps to strengthen the War Crimes Tribunal, arrest the marked war criminals and impose ban on their migration from the country. According to the constitution of 1972, the government should impose ban on religion-based politics in the country, it also demanded. The government should face the propaganda on war crimes trial both politically and diplomatically, the party said. Awami League (AL) presidium member Abdur Razzak, Industries Minister Dilip Barua, lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badshah, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) President Manjurul Ahsan Khan, Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique also addressed the programme.
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