Trial of War Criminals in Bangladesh
Asif Haroon Raja
After nine-month Indian aided insurgency,
the Indian Army launched a three directional offensive and managed to conquer
East Pakistan in 1971 without crossing a single major river and without
reducing any of the towns converted into fortresses. Jessore and Mymensingh had
been abandoned and not captured. The much trumpeted counter offensive in the
West conceived to release pressure on the eastern front never took off. Outcome
of the war fought in the eastern theatre was a foregone conclusion. With an
overwhelming superiority in ground forces, complete mastery of the skies and
domination in sea, and almost entire local population having turned hostile,
the air and sea routes blocked, and the international community neutralized
through Indian exterior manoeuvre, the Indian Army backed by Soviet Union could
just barge in singing victory songs. It will be not wrong to say that the
Indian Eastern Command was over stuffed with resources and was provided everything
it wished for. In the face of such heavy odds, no Army in the world could have
done any better.
After the fall of Dhaka on December 16,
1971, the Awami League (AL) leaders based in Calcutta were brought to Dhaka on
an Indian air force plane in the last week of December. By that time, the
Indian Army had shifted all stores, equipment, machinery and even household
items in bulk to India. It was a well-organized plunder of a country they had
liberated. With the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on January 8, 1972 and his
return to Dhaka, the Bangladesh government commenced its journey as an
independent State.
India declared as an afterthought that
Pakistan Army had surrendered to joint command of India and Bangladesh and
therefore it was not within the jurisdiction of India to repatriate the
prisoners of war at her own. To start with, rather than building bridges, Mujib
chose to raise the issue of trials of war criminals and wanted all the interned
armed forces personnel in India to be tried in Bangladesh for their alleged
atrocities during the 1971. He also wanted war reparations for the loss of
property and damages done during the war. He made no mention of wanton loot and
plunder of Indian Army. Later on his demand was shrunk to the size of 1000 war
prisoners responsible for the genocide. After the visit of ZA Bhutto to India
and signing of Simla Agreement in 1972, the list was further curtailed to 195.
Mujib stuck to his guns that the so-called rogues would be tried as war
criminals. The State machinery was geared up to collect as much
incriminating evidence against them to try them under the aegis of
International Jury.
The Indians also worked on them by putting
the alleged criminals in isolated jails and exerting pressure as well as
resorting to torture. However, public interest to prosecute war criminals waned
when facts started to surface about un-authenticated allegations blown out of
all proportions together with the constantly declining economic health of
Bangladesh. Moreover, the regime got busy in a witch-hunt at a grand scale
against all those alleged to have corroborated with Pakistan Army under the
"Collaboration Order". The genocide and gang rapes committed by Mukti
Bahini and Awami League activists against non-Bengalis and pro-Pakistan Bengalis
at a large-scale was disregarded.
Instead of concentrating on dire economic
woes, Mujib wasted his energies on farcical trials and in the process earned
world-wide displeasure. The incredible logic propounded by Mujib to try the war
criminals of Pakistan Army on the basis that Pakistan Army operating in former
East Pakistan was an 'occupation army' and hence had no right to defend
nation's territorial integrity was ridiculous.
On August 28, 1973 India and Pakistan
signed an agreement in Delhi to repatriate 93000 civil and military prisoners
of war to Pakistan. Bengalis in Pakistan were to be returned to Bangladesh. The
fate of 50,000 Biharis stranded in Bangladesh proclaiming themselves as
Pakistanis was to be decided at a later date. Mujib clung to his demand of
trial of 195 war criminals. Bhutto insisted that Pakistan would not recognise
Bangladesh until all prisoners of war were released. The process of their
repatriation commenced in batches in September 1973. Recognition of Bangladesh
by Pakistan in February 1974 led to rapprochement between the two countries. A
tripartite agreement between India-Pakistan-Bangladesh signed in April 1974
resolved all contentious issues related to 1971 war and paved the way for
return of 195 war criminals as well. The last batch of prisoners of war reached
Lahore in April 1974.
The founder of the new county couldn’t
enjoy the fruits of freedom for long, for Mujib and his entire family were
hacked to death in a military coup led by Maj Farooq and Maj Rashid on August
15, 1975. Only Mujib’s one daughter, Hasina Wajid the current PM of Bangladesh
escaped death since she was abroad. Khondkar Mushtaq succeeded Mujib but he
could stay in power for less than three months only. A counter coup took place
on November 3, 1975 that brought Brig Khalid Musharraf to power. Hardly had he
sat on the president’s chair for four days when another coup led by senior
military officers displaced him on November 7. Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman was chosen
to lead the country who remained in power for about six years. He amended the
constitution, making Islam instead of secularism its first basic principle. Gen
Hossain Ershad followed by Gen Zia’s daughter followed his policies. From Zia
to Khalida, Bangladesh progressed and it came closer to Pakistan. The latter
helped in building Bangladesh armed forces.
In 1997, Hasina Wajid captured power. Till
her arrival, Mujib was forgotten and remembered as a despot who had misruled
and created divisions in the country. During her first rule and now during her
second tenure which is at its fag end, she tried hard to erase the negative
impressions against her father. Apart from projecting Mujib as Bongabandhu, she
brought his murderers to task by sentencing to death 15 ex officers of Army in
November 1998.
In her second stint, on the advice of
India, she not only reverted to secularism but also reopened old wounds that
time had healed by opening war crime trials pertaining to 1971 period in 2010.
This was entirely in violation of the 1974 tri-lateral agreement. FIRs
registered against Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) members forming part of Al-Badar and
Al-Shams in 1972 including Abdul Quader Molla were taken out of the cold
freezer in 2010. After a one-sided trial, most have been awarded life sentence
or death sentence. Quader and Maulana Ghulam Azam and several other JI leaders
were given life sentence by the court but their sentences were converted to
death sentence. Quader is the only one who was hanged to death on December 12,
2013. During this long period, Quader had accepted war of independence and had
been twice elected as Member of Parliament and served Bangladesh loyally. Since
the period of which Quader was accused was 1971 when Pakistan was united, it
was natural for Pakistanis to feel perturbed.
Since Quader had taken active part in the
war against India-aided rebels to defend the motherland, it was rightful on
part of Munawar Hasan led JI to feel deeply grieved and take out protests and
to move a resolution in the National Assembly to condemn the brutal act.
Choudhri Nisar rightly said that the sad incident had reopened old wounds and
opened fresh ones. Bangladesh’s complaint that Pakistan’s protests amounted to
interference in its internal affairs was uncalled for since it is the right of
any country or individual to raise voice against human rights violations as
prescribed in UN laws. India interfered in internal affairs of Pakistan in 1971
and broke it into two. For over a decade India and host of other countries are
interfering into the internal affairs of Pakistan, but Bangladesh never uttered
a word of protest or sympathized with Pakistan.
Unjust hanging of frail and aged Quader
has created a rumpus in Bangladesh. His last letter addressed to his wife from
his death cell is heart wrenching. Islamists led by JI and BNA led by Khalida
Zia are out in the streets in every city condemning the gruesome act and are
battling with security forces and torching houses of government supporters. 50
people have died so far and the temperature is rising with every passing day
despite tough police actions. To divert the attention, Bangladesh government
staged several demonstrations against Pakistan.
Taking a dispassionate and rational view
of the case, if Quader and his companions belonging to JI had extended support
to the Pak Army to fight against Indian aided rebels and later against Indian
Army with a view to preserve the integrity of Pakistan, what wrong they had
done? Didn’t the norms of patriotism and nationalism demand loyalty to
motherland? Under what moral grounds could they be treated as traitors? Was the
blood of Biharis and non-Bengalis residing in former East Pakistan thinner than
Bengalis? Well over 200,000 were hacked to death between 01 and 25 March 1971
and thousands of women raped. Troops remained confined to barracks in
cantonments on the demand of Mujib while the bloodbath was taking place. The
second cycle of bloodshed took place in November-December 1971 and the third
after independence of Bangladesh. Isn’t it true that the conspiracy to make
East Pakistan East Pakistan hatched by Mujib and India in Agartala in 1963?
Wasn’t the military action on March 25 launched after exercising all other
options to settle the issue peacefully though dialogue? How do governments deal
with traitors ready to sell their country? How did Bangladesh government deal
with Indian supported Chakmas and Shanti Bahini and with BDR mutineers?
Are the farcical trials meant to gain
political mileage and get Hasina re-elected? Reopening of 1971 war crime trials
after 42 years is a clear indication that the whole drama is politically
motivated and Indian inspired to keep Bangladesh-Pakistan antagonized and to
emasculate the rising power of Islamists vying to make the Bangladesh
constitution Islamic and free their country from the clutches of India.
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