Interview: with the new Consul General for Bangladesh in Hong Kong, M. Sarwar Mahmood; in attendance, Mirana Mahrukh, Consul.

The new consul general gave a contextual introduction to Bangladesh as a prelude to an explanation of the war crimes trials that have shook the nation so recently. Seemingly agreeing that it was the youths that started the street action in Dhaka’s Shahbag Square.

[Pressenza: When a group of young moderates in Dhaka demonstrated in the central Shahbag Square, their protest quickly grew into a mass movement demanding accountability and harsh sentences for alleged crimes during the war.]

The War of Liberation of Bangladesh resulted in ‘murder, torture, enslavement and rape of more than 200,000 Bengali women’, and genocide, committed under ‘Operation Searchlight”. Close to three million lives were lost during the war of liberation. The main culprits were occupation  troops bent on preventing secession from “West Pakistan”. The army had the support of East Pakistan’s fundamentalist groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami, which remains Bangladesh’s largest Islamic political party, but in terms of votes obtained, they received only 4.7% of the vote in last general election.

The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICT-BD), a national Tribunal of Bangladesh, was constituted in March 2010 (Tribunal 1) and March 2012 (Tribunal 2), as per the International Crimes Tribunal Act (ICTA), as an independent, open and transparent Court with reference to ‘national need’ such as the “long denial of justice to the victims of atrocities crimes against humanity, genocide and other international crimes committed during the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh and the nation as a whole”. It is notable that the ICT-BD is a domestic tribunal with a mandate to try internationally defined crimes under the ICTA with a view to bringing to justice the perpetrators of one of the most heinous genocides and crimes against humanity of the 20th century, committed on the soil of Bangladesh in 1971.

Ten people were arrested and charged with offences ranging from individual acts of rape and murder to the ordering of mass executions. The first case was of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, a member of parliament from 1996 to 2008 and a leader of Jamaat.

[Pressenza comment: As well as being about the birth of the nation, the war-crimes trial also has importance in today’s politics in Bangladesh. In the general election of 2008 the then and now current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, campaigned on a promise to set up the tribunal. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Sheikh Hasina’s arch enemy, Khaleda Zia, is widely believed to remain second leg since Mrs Zia will not easily come to power without support from Jamaat. It is therefore doubtful that she would continue with the trials should she get into power. The next general election is due around January 2014.]

“The trials we are undertaking are no easy matter. There are few instances in the world of such trials and we have limitations, but we try,” Mr Mahmood comments. “After World War II War trials of German and Japanese leaders were held in courts established by the victorious Allied Nations. The victors in those heightened moments could decide many things. Our tribunals are done more professionally. Whereas the previous were held immediately after that war ended, in a situation favouring the victors, ours are being held 41 years later.

“However, our tribunals are conducted professionally. The trials of the accused are being conducted in open tribunals witnessed by the media and independent observers, and using digitalized procedures for both prosecution and defence in order to ensure full transparency to meet the requirements of fair trials in compliance with standards evoked in other trials of international crimes committed around the globe and historically. The Rules of Procedure of the tribunals ensure due process and provide for a guarantee of all internationally recognized human rights standards for the accused and for victims and witness protection measures.”

With the implementation of the war trials people took to the streets demanding the death penalty, many among the public finding the life imprisonment sentencing too lenient. While the government did not object to the street demonstrations of the various factions it has turned down a demand from some fundamentalist elements for a blasphemy law. “We made that clear,” the Consul General added.

The Consul General did not comment on whether the continuance of the street demonstrations and strikes could be a worrying factor for foreign investment. However, as a moderate Muslim country with generally liberal public views the government has shown restraint in regard to the street demonstrations. ***

The Consul General could not be drawn to comment on the demand from some sectors of the public that a neutral caretaker government be put in place to cover the coming election period other than to say: “According to the constitution there is no regulation for that – previously, as a developing country we had that caretaker government but now we have advanced to a certain stage and several elections took place under the tenure of the current government in a neutral and transparent manner, and people are more aware of the situation so we do not need that. However, ‘what will actually happen’, would be determined by the parliament and our people in the coming days. Remember, in last general elections we got a turnout of 87.13%, which is far better than in many fully developed economies. This is a positive indicator of our people’s political consciousness.”
[Pressenza: Protests and clashes in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country have diminished in recent weeks but with about 100 dead and thousands injured, tensions remain high.]

Turning to other lesser ‘hot topics’, the agenda for bringing Bangladeshi female domestic workers into the Hong Kong workforce, it was mentioned that the plan was on-track.
(See: Trade up and workers in – http://www.pressenza.com/2013/03/trade-up-and-workers-in/ )

On the part of Hong Kong consul Mirana Mahrukh, commenting on the domestic workers coming to Hong Kong, she said: “Our women as workers are caring, homily and of happy disposition and we see these as competitive advantages. At home we have very open relationships with other religions and we know how to respect other’s religious views. As Muslims we are tolerant, even with those who do not have any religious beliefs, and in Bangladesh we don’t expect to have to put up with extreme religious ideas.”

Ms. Mahrukh says Bangladesh has so many achievements to be proud of with many women in government: “Our Honourable Prime Minister is a lady, Sheikh Hasina; our Deputy leader of the Parliament is a lady; the opposition leader Khaleda Zia too, and other Ministers even in vital ministries such as the foreign, former-home and the agricultural ministries. Not overlooking the women in our garments sector that makes a 70% contribution to the economy and where 90% of the workers are women.”

[Pressenza, end note: the International Crimes Tribunal-2 war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman trial proceedings concluded 16 April, 2013. Two tribunals, dealing with the war crimes cases, have already delivered verdicts in three cases. Kamaruzzaman’s case is going to be the fourth one to have seen the verdict delivered. The Tribunal-2 awarded expelled Jamaat member Abul Kalam Azad death sentence and life sentence to Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah, while the Tribunal-1 awarded Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee death sentence. Five other Jamaat and BNP leaders are facing trial in the two tribunals for their alleged crimes against humanity.]

*** (See: Bangladesh: critical juncture –
http://www.pressenza.com/2013/03/41126/
– Should Jamaat-e-Islami be banned? – http://www.pressenza.com/2013/02/bangladesh-should-jamaat-e-islami-be-banned/
Why Jamaat can and should be banned – http://www.pressenza.com/2013/02/why-jamaat-can-and-should-be-banned/
Bangladesh – reliving the spirit of 1971 – http://www.pressenza.com/2013/02/bangladesh-reliving-the-spirit-of-1971/)