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The World News Headlines This Week Explosions kill uni students
Two explosions have struck Aleppo University in northern Syria, killing at least 52 people, official sources and opposition activists say. There were conflicting reports as to what caused the blast on Tuesday, with the government and opposition blaming each other. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said 52 people were killed and dozens wounded in two explosions near the university’s dorms.
Iraqi MP killed in attack
Crackdown on Islamic groups continues across Bangladesh
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he continuing crackdown on Islamic groups in Bangladesh has reached a new low with the arrest of a number of Muslim women professionals whose only crime seems to have been to have organised and attended a meeting. At least 15 women who were attending a press briefing last week at the Dhaka Press Club were arrested. Among the arrested women were: > Professor Chamon Ara, a renowened writer and former Principal of Eden College; > Momtaz Mannan, former joint secretary at
the Ministry of Planning; > Noor Jahan Begum Shammi, assistant professor, Manarat University. Among the 15 women arrested were several journalists, doctors, engineers, accountants and several university lecturers. The women were arrested by officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), part of the country’s increasingly politicised police force. RAB is seen by some as the heavy-handed arm of the law and is being accused of doing little more than carry out the governing party’s orders.
The government is currently formed in Bangladesh by the Awami League party, led by Sheikh Hasina. Many people are claiming that there looks to be a systematic crackdown on Islamic groups in the country, with prominent religious leaders being targeted for witch-hunts on a variety of trumped-up charges. In particular, the Awami League is being accused of carrying out a witch-hunt against the Jamaat-e-Islam, which is believed to be allies with the main opposition to the Awami League, the Bangla-
desh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is led by Khaleda Zia. In this instance, last week, RAB broke up what seemed to a peaceful and legal meeting – a press briefing – attended by professional Muslim women. Witnesses say that at least 15 of the women attending the meeting were detained by the police on unknown charges. The press briefing was organised by the Women’s Rights Organisation Bangladesh (Nari Adhitkar Shongstha Bangladesh). They had called the meeting to protest the arrest of around 20 women members
of the Bangladesh Islami Chatri Shangstha last month. At the time, police claimed they were making the arrests because of the women’s “subversive activities”, further claiming that they had found a large number of “jihadi” books without specifying what the books were. Jamaat’s acting ameer, Moqbul Ahmed, condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of all Muslim activists arrested during the current crackdown. The mid-life crisis of Bangladesh, page 39
Rushanara Ali MP questions Mayor on volunteer officer cutbacks
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ushanara Ali MP has written to Mayor of London Boris Johnson, asking him to explain deep cuts to community support officers.
‘Boris Johnson must make clear where the money for these officers is going and why he wants less police on our streets’
The cuts have not resulted in more police officers, despite Home Secretary Teresa May’s claim that this is Metropolitan Police policy. This is at a time when crime in Tower Hamlets is also rising, having gone up by over 9% since 2010. In her letter, Ms Ali says: “I would ask you, as Mayor of London, where money from disbanded community support officers has gone, as it has not provided for any increase of police officers in my constituency.”
Ms Ali is concerned about the levels of police support for local people In particular, Rushanara asked Boris Johnson to explain why Home Secretary Theresa May has stated, at Home Office Questions on Monday 7, that “the Met-
ropolitan police force has indicated that it wants to change the number of PCSOs [community support officers] in order to increase the number of police con-
stables it has available.” Labour’s Crime Spokesperson, Cllr Abdal Ullah, said: “Boris Johnson must make clear where the money for these officers is going and why he wants less police on our streets.” Tower Hamlets has lost 58 community support officers and 103 police officers between March 2010 and April 2012. Crime in Tower Hamlets fell steadily for 6 successive years, under the previous government, until 2009.
An Iraqi member of parliament and his bodyguard have been killed in a suicide attack in western Anbar province, officials say. Ayfan Sadoun alEssawi, a member of the secular Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc that is part of Nuri al-Maliki’s national unity government, was targeted as he inspected a road being constructed south of Fallujah. “The moment he stepped out of the car to check out this road between Fallujah and Amriyah, at this moment, there was a man. He came to him, hugged him, said Allahu Akbar, and blew himself up,” Sohaib Haqi, the chief of Essawi’s office, said.
Cleric calls for revolution
Tahir-ul-Qadri, a CanadianPakistani Muslim leader who led a two-day protest march into the Pakistani capital, has called for a “revolution” in Pakistan, after the government ignored a deadline he set for it to resign. Qadri addressed a crowd of tens of thousands of people gathered outside the parliament in Islamabad on Tuesday. “We are here in front of the parliament house just to save our country from collapse and from complete ruin,” he said in a his address, in which he urged supporters to continue their sit-in until Wednesday.”
French halt Mali Islamists
French airstrikes in Mali have halted the advance of Islamist rebels in the key town of Konna, France’s president said. Francois Hollande described the military action on Saturday evening, after West African nations had authorised the deployment of more troops to the country. As more than 100 people - including rebels and government soldiers - were reported to have been killed in the fighting,
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News This Week US military suicides increase
Despite extensive support and counseling programs, as many as 349 US service members committed suicide last year, which would be the highest number since the Department of Defense began keeping detailed statistics in 2001. According to the Pentagon, 239 military deaths in 2012 have been confirmed as suicides and another 110 are being investigated as probable suicides. The number of suicides in 2011 reached 301; there were 298 the year before.
Egypt train crash kills 19
Train cars filled with Egyptian security force recruits hopped the tracks and crashed in Giza early Tuesday, killing at least 19 people and injuring some 107 others, a local official said. The train carrying Central Security conscripts was heading from Assiut north to Cairo when it partially derailed around 12:45 am Tuesday in Giza, National Railways Authority Chairman Hussain Zakaria said, according to state-run EGYNews.
Facebook introduces Graph
Facebook on Tuesday introduced an upgraded search tool, called Graph Search, that will scour the massive social network to answer more sophisticated questions. Want to find buddies of your pal Chris who went to Stanford and live in Chicago? No problem. People who like tennis and live nearby? Here you go. How about photos of Berlin, Germany, from 1989? Done. “This is one of the coolest things we’ve done in awhile,” said Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
German economy shrinks
Germany’s economy shrank by about 0.5% in the final quarter of 2012 as the eurozone crisis took its toll on exports and investments. And annual growth this year is likely to be weaker than last. Dragged down by the poor fourth quarter, gross domestic product in Europe’s biggest economy grew by just 0.7% in 2012, the Federal Statistics Office said Tuesday, down from 3% the previous year. Last year’s economic performance is the weakest since 2009, and well below Germany’s 10-year average annual growth rate of just over 1%.
Police launched a massive raid on 93 Feet East in early-December in connection with a drugs ibvestigation. Tower Hamlets has been cracking down on drug dealing in the past year
Brick Lane club loses licence Popular club loses licence after December police raid in connection with drugs investigation
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he decision to remove the licence of the 93 Feet East bar was taken by Tower Hamlets licensing sub-committee last week, after the raid involving 175 officers in December. Evidence gathered by police pointed to widespread drug dealing and taking at the popular nightspot, prompting them to apply to the council to review its licence. The decision means the venue will no longer be allowed to sell alcohol or function as a night club. Deputy Mayor of Tower
Hamlets cllr Ohid Ahmed said the decision shows the council is prepared to take “swift and decisive action if bars are found to be allowing drug dealing and drug misuse”. “We will continue to go the extra mile to tackle drug dealing in our community”, he added. Police raided London venue 93 Feet East
over the weekend beginning December 8, during a citywide crackdown on licensing offences. Located on Brick Lane, 93 Feet East is a bar and live music venue with club parties on the weekend. Police targeted the venue as part of Operation Condor, the third in a series of similar raids. According to the BBC, this Operation Condor brought 4,000 officers to more than 5,000 premises in search of licensing offences, which
‘We will continue to go the extra mile to tackle drug dealing in our community’
included violations to liquor laws, “immigration breaches” and drug activity. The raid at 93 Feet East was one of the biggest overall: 175 officers descended on the club in total, including a helicopter and dog units. According to the police report, five people were arrested on suspicion of possessing Class A drugs, another two “on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs” and one more “for being the owner/occupier of premises being concerned in the supply drugs.” One person was also arrested on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant, and another for being drunk and disorderly. The club was closed as a result of the raid, but was open
again the following evening. Met Police Commander Mak Chishty considers the raids a success, saying: “Yet again we have seen Operation Condor bring in excellent results from our concerted efforts involving thousands of officers being deployed all over London over the past two days.” He went on to say: “Licensing impacts upon everyday community life – in our shops and supermarkets this means people do not sell knives, harmful substances or alcohol to young people; in our pubs and clubs it means that alcohol is sold and consumed in a responsible way, on our roads it means that vehicles, such as taxis are properly licensed and safe.”
‘Young Mayor’ election to be held at end of January T he race to be the Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets is almost at a close with elections due to take place at the end of this month. The scheme has proved popular with local youngsters, an increasing number of whom have entered the race. The previous winner was Nahimul Islam, aged 16, from Wapping. He was elected as
Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets in January 2011. He is currently supported by deputies Tasmina Khanum and Nadeem Miah, and the three will serve until the end of this month. This year, another 17 youngsters have put themselves forward for the role and are canvassing for support from their peers. The shortlisted candidates are Jordan Barker, Sonia Be-
gum, Shofiqul Alom, Ibrahim Faruqi, Mahdi Alam, Munadiah Aftab, Aktar Hussain, Tania Begum, Tanvir Raza, Tahid Zaman, Tasrin Chowdhury, Tahir Uddin, Joe Kavanagh, Sharmin Khan, Shabika Miah, Sadia Khan and Yehya Sheikh. Polling takes place in schools and libraries on January 30; and the winner of the election will be announced on January 31
The current Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Nahimul Islam (centre), and his deputies Nadeem Miah and Tasmina Khanum
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15 January 2013
News This Week Burgers contain horse meat Horse DNA has been found in some beef burgers being sold in UK and Irish supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland’s food safety authority has said. The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire. The chief executive of the FSAI, Professor Alan Reilly, said there was no risk to the public.
Bristol chooses its first Bangladeshi mayor
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ristol is about to have its first mayor of Bangladeshi Muslim origin after Faruk Choudhury was selected by his party and is unlikely to be opposed by other parties. “I am jubilant not only for my family but for the multi-ethnic population in the city,” said Mr Choudhury. “Bristol is a wonderful place – the best city in Britain – and this is due in no small part because of its diversity and multi-cultural community.” He won his party’s nomination to stand as Lord Mayor and he will not be opposed by the other political parties. He will be installed at the council’s annual meeting in May. Mr Choudhury, who came to Britain as a student when he was 23, was planning to start a law degree at the University of the West of England in September. But now he will delay the start of his course for a year. He is a property businessman and previously owned a restaurant in Clifton called the Joy Raj. He is planning to open a deli in Clifton soon with his wife, Shilpi. Mr Choudhury is hoping to use his year in office as Bristol’s first citizen to encourage people, especially among ethnic minorities, to give blood and become organ donors. He said: “Many people die every year as a result of donor deficiency,” he said.
Nine in court over abuse
Border Agency steps up hunt for illegals
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he United Kingdom Border Agency has stepped up its hunt for illegal workers in Britain and dozens of Bangladeshis are being caught in the net. Over the past 12 months, the Agency has sued a number of high-profile companies in the possible hope that it will deter other companies from employing illegal immigrants. Tesco was fined around £200,000 last year for giving jobs to people who did not have all the correct papers. Immigration officials had swooped on Tesco stores and arrested 20 students for alleged breaches of visa terms that restricted the amount
of hours they could work. At least seven of the students, none of whom had been identified, were deported. The increased intensity of investigations follows Home Office operations to put a stop to “visa abuse”. Officials discovered the students, who were predominantly of Bangladeshi and Indian origin, had been working up to three-and-a-half times longer than their visas allowed. Now, in the latest case, three Aberdeen restaurants
have been fined almost £40,000 for employing illegal workers. The UK Border Agency said Spice Mill, in the Bridge of Don area, had been fined £25,000 over eight Bangladeshi men. The Jewel in the Crown in Aberdeen’s Crown Street was fined £8,750 over three staff. And a £5,000 fine has also been handed out to the Mr Wu takeaway in George Street over one employee. Bangladeshi catering industry professionals have
‘Government has to understand if it carries on like this, it will damage our business’
often expressed its concern about the investigations and sudden intrusions into their business and asked for a solution which does not deprive them of workers with skills and abilities that are often difficult to find. “The government has to understand that if it carries on like this, it will damage our business so much that many of us will go out of business,” said one restaurant owner. “It is not easy to find the right staff and it takes time to train them in the skills – and it costs money. If the government refuse to understand the difficulties we face, the restaurant industry will suffer.”
Tower Hamlets ‘lost 161 police officers since 2010’ T ower Hamlets Labour councillors claim that there are 161 fewer police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) on the beat in Tower Hamlets compared with 2010. The research undertaken by the Labour Party showed that 58 PCSOs, 45% of the total number in the borough, and 103 police officers, 13% of the total, were lost between
March 2010 and April 2012. The numbers come at the same time Mayor of London Boris Johnson is proposing in his budget to further cut the Metropolitan police budget by over £300m this year including by closing some police stations.
Labour councillors have deemed this move reckless saying the police closures, alongside the plans to axe local fire stations show that Boris Johnson isn’t putting residents needs first. Labour’s Spokesperson for a Safer Borough, Cllr
‘Boris Johnson can be entertaining at times, but this is no laughing matter’
Abdal Ullah, said: “We all know Boris Johnson can be entertaining at times, but this is no laughing matter. “Losing 161 police officers and PCSOs will already be having a major impact in Tower Hamlets. “By threatening to close more police stations in the borough the Mayor is showing just how out of touch he is. “There is nothing more important than protecting
residents. Closing fire and police stations and saying there will be no impact is not right, the Mayor must come clean about the impact his choices will have on residents. “Since the fire station closures were made public Labour have campaigned against them, we will continue to stand up for residents, fighting against the Mayor’s deep and unnecessary cuts to frontline emergency services.”
A group of nine men targeted vulnerable young girls in Oxford and subjected them to depraved sexual abuse, the Old Bailey has heard. The men, eight from Oxford and one from Berkshire, are accused of being involved in a child sextrafficking ring involving six girls, aged between 11 and 15 and cover a period from 2004 to 2012.
HMV boss remains confident The boss of HMV has said he is confident of finding a solution to the embattled retailer’s troubles. Trevor Moore said management had begun working with administrators Deloitte. “We remain convinced we can find a successful business outcome,” he told journalists. “The intention is to continue to trade the stores.” HMV revealed late on Monday that it intended to appoint an administrator.
Police pay to be cut
The starting salary for police constables in England and Wales is being cut by £4,000 to £19,000, the home secretary has confirmed. Theresa May has accepted recommendations on reform made by the Police Arbitration Tribunal. It follows proposals put forward last year in a review for an overhaul of police pay, conditions and allowances.
BA loses crucifix case
A British Airways employee suffered discrimination at work over her Christian beliefs, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. Nadia Eweida took her case to the ECHR after BA made her stop wearing her white gold cross visibly. The court said BA had not struck a fair balance between Ms Eweida’s religious beliefs and the company’s wish to “project a certain corporate image”.
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Features ‘Militant atheist’ blogger stabbed in Bangladesh
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands on the $1 billion deal
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self-styled “militant atheist” who is famed for his anti-religious blogs was fighting for life on Tuesday after he was stabbed in the capital of Muslim-majority Bangladesh, police and medics said. Asif Mohiuddin, 29, was attacked on Monday night by three unidentified men near his office in Dhaka’s upscale Uttara district. “We operated on him for more than three hours. He is improving but still not out of danger. He has six deep cuts including two grave ones in the shoulder,” Haridas Saha, a surgeon at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told AFP. “The nature of the cuts proved that the attackers wanted to murder him,” Saha said, adding that friends of Mohiuddin who were with him at the time of the attack blamed Islamic “fundamentalists”. Local police chief Rezaul Islam confirmed the attack but did not comment on the motive. “The attackers were lurking near his office. He was attacked as he was about to enter the office. Passers-by rushed him to a hospital,” Islam told AFP, adding police were investigating the motive. Mohiuddin’s blog – somewhereinblog.net/blog/ realAsifM – has been one of the most visited webpages in Bangladesh and is known for its tirade against religions in one of the most conservative parts of the world. His blog’s title page called the god “Almighty only in name but impotent in reality”. In July last year, he ridiculed Muslims and the Koran in a satirical piece on “the mass conversion of supermen to Islam”. Ninety percent of Bangladesh’s 153 million people are Muslims and Islam is the state religion. Several other prominent Bangladeshi writers have also been attacked in recent years for their stand against Islam and Islamic groups. Humayun Azad, a poet, novelist and literature professor, was attacked by members of an outlawed Islamic militant group for a satirical novel against fundamentalist groups in 2004. He later died.
Bangladesh signs $1 billion arms deal Russian leader Vladimir Putin grants Bangladesh access to sophisticated weaponry and says he intends to broaden military co-operation between the two countries
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angladesh inked its biggest arms contract worth $1 billion with Russia, which also announced a $500 million loan to Dhaka for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant. The two major deals were announced after Russian President Vladmir Putin today met with visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for talks. “Russia will issue a loan to Bangladesh worth one billion US dollars that will be used to buy Russian weapons and military hardware,” Putin told journalists after the talks. “Cooperation in defence was another area for collaboration between Dhaka and Moscow,” Hasina was quoted by the Bangladeshi BSS news agency as saying at the joint press briefing after the talks. “Our countries intend to broaden military-technical cooperation,” Putin said, without specifying what weapons or military equipment Bangladesh would buy from Russia, the world’s second-largest weapons exporter. However, media reports in Bangladesh, said fighter jets, helicopters, armoured vehicles, anti-tank missiles, automatic grenade launchers and radar equipment would be included in the package of the procurement deal. In addition to the arms contract, Russia will also grant a loan worth $500 million to Bangladesh for the construction of a nuclear power plant in northwestern Ruppur. “We will not only provide the most up-to-date technology. ...but also provide financial support for the construction of the nuclear power plant at the initial stage,” Putin said. The head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said technical and environmental assessments would be carried out this year for the plant, which is
‘Russia will issue a loan to Bangladesh worth one billion US dollars that will be used to buy Russian weapons and military hardware’
to have two 1,000-megawatt reactors and will be completed in the early 2020s. Energy-starved Bangladesh signed an initial deal with Russian state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom in November, 2011, to build a nuclear plant with two 1,000 megawatt reactors at a cost of upto USD 2 billion each against the backdrop of its dwindling reserve of natural gas. The two sides inked 11 agreements, Itar-Tass reported. Hasina told the briefing that her government wanted to deepen engagements with Moscow for mutual benefits and gains since it assumed office in January, 2009. Over the last four years, Hasina said, “we made good progress in certain key areas, including cooperation in nuclear and conventional energy”. “They are our friend of bad times (1971) and by this visit we renew our friendship, and a new door of prospect has opened by this visit,” Hasina said. Dhaka-based Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) chief retired major general ANM Muniruzzaman said the this was the biggest ever single defence deal Bangladesh ever signed with a foreign nation since its 1971 independence. “This also appears to be a diplomatic shift as Russia is not a traditional source of weapons...unlike China while the western countries are the source of its relatively sophisticated defence hardware,” Muniruzzaman told PTI. Defence analysts, however, said that the previous 1996-2001 tenure of Hasina’s ruling Awami League witnessed the procurement of 10 MiG 21s from Russia under a deal, while Moscow initially helped Bangladesh to build its defence structure with helicopters after 1971 independence, after it had extended its crucial support during the Liberation War along with India. “We will also give training to the highly qualified military staffs,” Putin said, adding that Bangladesh and Russia have also agreed to join hands in the fight against terrorism in the South Asian region. Russia’s gas giant Gazprom and Bangladeshi Petrobangla Corporation will also team up for a joint project, Putin said. The project envisages a drilling of ten gas wells in Bangladesh. According to the Russian president, the project will make it possible to raise gas production in Bangladesh to 56 million cubic metres a day. Hasina is on a three-day visit to Russia that ends tomorrow. This is the first official visit of a Bangladesh Prime Minister to Moscow since Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s visit of the erstwhile Soviet Union in April, 1972, immediately after Bangladesh became independent.
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15 January 2013
Features The mid-life crisis of Bangladesh
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angladeshis are watching in suspense as a high-profile trial aims to clarify responsibility for crimes committed during the bloody 1971 struggle for independence from Pakistan. The trial, known as the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), is exploring the unsolved killings allegedly committed by militias and political groups that sided with Pakistan during the conflict. But the resignation of a key judge, the disappearance of a vital witness, and allegations of political meddling have all cast doubts on the impartiality of the proceedings. “We have been concerned from the very beginning about the ICT and the rules of procedure,” notes Tej Thapa of Human Rights Watch (HRW). Fueling such worries is the fact that the defendants are all opposition politicians who have participated in recent governments. The current Awami League (AL) administration promised such a trial in the 2008 election. Chief among the defendants are the elderly leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, the largest Islamic political group in the country and a coalition partner of the primary opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The Jamaat is traditionally seen as more pro-Muslim. The ruling Awami League is more secular. Both parties can trace their political lineage back to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, when Bengali nationalists in what was then known as “East Pakistan” led a fight to break away from the control of Islamabad. Millions dies in the conflict, and hundreds of thousands of women were victims of brutal sexual crimes at the hands of paramilitaries and the Pakistani military. Rape and butchery were seen as a strategy of the Pakistani military in its efforts to crush freedom fighters and to purge the non-Islamic elements of Bangladeshi society, through the targeting of Hindus and intellectuals. One of the chief defendants in the current trial, Ghulam Azam, for example, was chairman of Jamaat at the time of the war, and allegedly set up vigilante groups to oppose Bangladeshi independence. Many of the most serious perpetrators are either dead or in Pakistan, where they fled after the war. But the fact some of them continued to participate in the country’s political life for decades after the war rightly concerns many Bangladeshis. This also means that it is nearly impossible to separate the trial from current partisan maneuverings. Over the past forty years, Bangladeshi politics has remained split between those who support a vision of Bangladesh as an Islamic nation, and those who favor a country with a more secular, distinctly Bengali identity. The December 11 resignation of Justice Nizamul Huq, one of the three senior judges presiding over the trial, is only the most recent plot twist in the trial’s stormy course. He stepped down just days after The Economist acquired 17 hours of leaked Skype conversations and hundreds of e-mails that passed between him and a Brussels-based legal expert, Ahmed Ziauddin. According to the documents, Huq told his friend that the government is “absolutely crazy for a judgment. The government has gone totally mad. They have gone completely mad, I am telling you. They want a judgment by 16th December... It’s as simple as that.” The exasperated judge appears to have sought help from Ziaudinn on how to nail down quick convictions. Ziauddin even allegedly helped the judge to draw up indictments. Huq told Ziauddin that a government minister “came to visit me this evening. He asked me to pass this verdict fast. I told him ‘how can I do that?’... He said, ‘Try as quick as you can.’” How the material was leaked is still unclear. Defense lawyer Abdur Razzaq, a member of Jamaat, says that the revelations “seriously questioned the integrity of the court, through executive interference to the highest degree.” This could be the “tip of the iceberg,” Razzaq adds, “because we do not know what conversations they had with the other judges.” The independence of the current trial was seriously compromised when a key defense witness disappeared on November 5. Shukho Ranjon Bali was originally a prosecution witness but had never appeared in court, having testified only in written statements – a provision of the trial singled out for criticism by Human Rights Watch. Bali’s testimony was part of the trial of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, an Islamic preacher and Jamaat stalwart accused of being involved in the killing of 50 people, rape, and arson. Bali was preparing to
Forty-one years after its bloody independence war, Bangladesh is trying to confront the traumas that accompanied its birth as a nation. But so far the process of coming to terms with the past is proving anything but simple
testify in court that much of his alleged prior testimony had actually been made up by the prosecution. “Witness Bali was a real threat to the prosecution,” says Razzaq. “If he had been in the witness box he would have had a shattering effect.” Defense lawyers allege that Bali was picked up by the police as he was heading to court on November 5 to testify for their side. He has not been heard from since. Had he been able to testify in court as planned, this would have posed serious questions about much of the evidence brought before the tribunal. A US State Department cable from February 2010 published by WikiLeaks bolsters the critics’ concerns, noting that “there is little doubt that hard-line elements within the ruling party [AL] believe that the time is right to crush Jamaat and other Islamic parties.” Perhaps as a result, in November 2011 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that “holding individuals in pre-trial detention in the absence of any reasoned and adequate explanation is unnecessary and disproportional to the aim sought.” Defense lawyer Razzaq asserts that the international community has spoken “with one voice” in condemnation of the trial process. Many Bangladeshis have objected to the extent of international censure directed at the trial. Some contend that the criticism is of a piece with the Nixon administration’s support of Pakistan at the time of the conflict, and the United States’ subsequent alleged support for more conservative forces in local politics. “The Americans have long favored BNP and Jamaat over the Awami League since they identified the AL as pro-Soviet socialists and the BNP as pro-free market,” says Zafar Sobhan, a columnist and editor of the Dhaka Tribune newspaper. Most of the defendants are from Jamaat, the third-largest party in the country, while two are from the BNP. The two parties formed a coalition in the previous democratically-elected government between 2001-2006 under Khaleda Zia, a perennial rival to current AL Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Both of these female figureheads are daughters of assassinated former leaders. (Between early 2007 and the 2008 election the country was under military rule.) Jamaat has become a serious player because of its capacity to bring one of the main parties to power through coalition. Defense lawyer Razzaq alleges that, as a result, nine of the Jamaat defendants on trial have been charged “for political reasons.” He calls the tribunal “a show trial.” For Ishtiaque Hussein, a veteran freedom fighter from the 1971 war, there is “no doubt” that the Jamaat party members now on trial were involved in the genocide. Many Bangladeshis insist that the country needs to heal the wounds of its founding conflict by seeing justice done. “The 1971 war clearly remains an open wound for most Bangladeshis,” Thapa says. “Human Rights Watch feels strongly that accountability for the horrific crimes is very important, and that justice must be brought to the victims who have waited for over 40 years.” The recent turmoil has raised the political temperature, resulting in a litany of general strikes, known as hartals, in the capital Dhaka, causing chaos and economic uncertainty. This has fueled rumors that the military will once again step in and take power. It was likely similar fears that last year prompted the Awami League to abolish the long-standing caretaker system, in which the incumbent government cedes power to an interim government before and during elections. Predictably this has only fueled more opposition and popular ire, paradoxically increasing the likelihood of another military takeover. Some Bangladeshis wonder whether the next general election, currently scheduled for next winter, will take place as planned. The trial has exacerbated the deep chasms among the country’s various political camps. Its outcome will have a profound effect on the future If the defendants (who theoretically face the death penalty) are found guilty, they could become martyrs for conservative Islamic parties or instill further power in the ruling AL. At the same time, there are many voters who believe in the necessity of urgent action to rid the political elite of possible war criminals. They will see a failure by the prosecution to make its accusations stick as a sign of the government’s weakness. What is certain is that the many irregularities in the tribunal have undermined its legitimacy. For the time being, the disputes over Bangladesh’s past continue to divide the present.
Leading UK lawyer criticises judge’s candid Skype chat
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leading British lawyer of Bangladeshi origin has criticised the candid Skype conversation that resulted in the dismissal of a top judge in Bangladesh. Barrister Nazir Ahmed said the Skype chat “clearly violated the Constitution” of Bangladesh and it is no surprise that it led to the resignation of a senior judge. The senior judge in question – Justice Nizamul Haque Nasim (pictured below) – had enaged in a Skype video call with a Brusselsbased Bangladeshi lawyer and the two of them had discussed confidential and ongoing cases. The Brusselsbased lawyer was Ahmed Ziauddin, who is reported to be a war crimes expert. The two men had discussed details of the case against prominent religious figures – including Dilwar Hussein Sayedee – who are accused of involvement in crimes during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. The Skype conversation was reportedly hacked by The Economist, for which the publishers are now being criticised in Bangladesh. Nonetheless, the breaking of confidentiality has led to the resignation of Justice Nizamul Haque. Barrister Nazir Ahmed said: “The recent Skype scandal has made irreparable damages to the apex court of Bangladesh. “The public are losing confidence on the upper judiciary. Justice Nasim has brought disrespect and disrepute on the higher judiciary. “Unless the whole matter is dealt with great wisdom, due care and looking at greater national interest as opposed to narrow party/alliance political benefits, the public will lose confidence on the upper judiciary, the dire consequence of which will be chaos and anarchy within the country. “We, as conscious citizens, must do everything possible to protect the county from going on that direction.”