EDITORIALS

More Than Delayed Justice

The initiation of war trials has the potential to establish a secular, democratic state in Bangladesh.

emocracy in Bangladesh has been blighted by assassinations of political leaders and by military forces and extremists subverting democratic institutions. Such repeated acts military coups, political assassinations and, worst of all, war crimes against civilians have gone unpunished and at times have even been legimitised by those in power. Now, nearly four decades after the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, the polity led by the ruling Awami League Party has nally decided to initiate trials against war criminals involved in horric acts against humanity during what the Bangladeshis call the Liberation War. Within a few years of Bangladeshs independence after 1975 to be precise the country saw a reversal of the progressive norms enunciated in its constitution. Military rule, assassination of political leaders and collusion between violent extremist forces and the polity increasingly became the norm. Many commentators in Bangladesh believe that not bringing the criminals of the Liberation War to justice created a culture of impunity in the nation. Perhaps that is why the Awami Leagues promise to conduct war trials part of its election manifesto has received overwhelming acceptance in the country. Emboldened by the three-fourths majority it has in parliament, the Awami Leagueled government initiated the trial process by setting up a war crimes tribunal in March this year. Those charged were ve leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, including its chief, Matiur Rahman Nizami. Logically, the trials should have covered Pakistanis alleged to have committed crimes as well, but Shaque Ahmed, the law minister of the Awami League government, has pragmati cally ruled out any such extension. For now, the trials are to cover only Bangladeshi collaborators. Estimates of those killed in the Liberation War vary, but from the numbers talked about between 2,00,000 and three million dead it is clear it was murder on a mass scale. Mass graves from 1971 have been discovered even recently in the country. Despite the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, geopolitical considerations prevented the trial of war criminals immediately after the

formation of Bangladesh. The edgling states hand was forced by the calculus of world power during the height of the cold war. A war crimes trial would have implicated many ofcials in Pakistan (then an ally of the United States) while the Government of India which helped in the Liberation War was not too enthusiastic about judicial punishment. Following the assassination in 1975 of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the rst prime minister of Bangladesh and the father of the nation, and the rise to power of right wing forces, the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami was lifted. During the subsequent years of military rule, which also coincided with the political Islamicisation of the Bangladeshi nation state, the collaborators enjoyed immunity and even sanction from the ruling classes. The incorporation of the Jamaat-e-Islami within the four-party alliance led by the right wing Bangladeshi Nationalist Party in 2001 ensured that these forces were now very much in the ruling elite. The presence of Islamic forces in positions of power between 2001 and 2008 radicalised Bangladeshi society, with various extremist forces being given protection and patronage. Political violence against minorities and the consolidation of terrorist outts increased during this period. Commentators agree that the forces that had opposed the formation of Bangladesh in the rst place were behind the rise of such violence and radicalism. The trials against the alleged war criminals will not only be about justice for the many of the victims of 1971, but a form of purgatory to reverse the radicalisation of Bangladeshi society. It is to be noted that in July this year the Supreme Court of Bangladesh had reinstated a ban on Islamic parties in line with the rst constitution of 38 years ago. With this action, the court had in effect reinstated the secular nature of the Bangladeshi state. Seen in the context of such decisions, the war crimes trials have the potential of taking forward the original intent of the liberators of the country to establish a secular democratic republic. A more favourable international environment and the overwhelming support from the electorate have together enabled the ruling government to begin what should have been done four decades ago.
the public sector, on the concepts of creditworthiness, stability and so forth Few will deny that salvation for underdeveloped countries lies in the rapid development of a complex of industries it is for the developing country to decide in which sector control of that industry should lie. To deny capital or technical assistance to a country merely becausesteel plants will be in the nationalised sector is surely not a completely objective stand for an international institution to take. It is the doctrine that Governments are incapable of managing industries efciently that lies at the root of this. And one ought not to ght shy of saying so sometimes even if it hurts.

From 50 Years Ago

Vol XIi, No 51, december 17, 1960

editorial

One Per Cent for Aid?

In the past fortnight, two resolutions of considerable importance to underdeveloped countries have been passed by the Economic Committee of the UN General Assemblyit has been suggested that the UN set up a Capital development fund for facilitating a more

effective direction of international economic assistance The United States, Britain, Japan and South Africa have declined to support the idea of a UN Capital development fund as also to accept a target for providing aid to developing countriesthe ostensible reason for their opposition is that such a fund is unnecessary now that the resources of the World Bank have been enlarged and the IDA has been established. The fact is that the outlook of these agencies is essentially that of the capitalist countries of the West. All the criteria on the basis of which decisions are taken contain a hard core of dogma on the proper role of

Economic & Political Weekly EPW december 18, 2010 vol xlv no 51