July, 2013
The Bangladeshi regime headed by a woman consumed by intense hatred, is determined to open old wounds and put on trial those that it perceives as its enemies. A kangaroo style crimes tribunal has been set up to try leaders of the Jamaat-e Islami whose latest victim is Ali Ahsan Mojahid, Secretary General of the party. The Jamaat-e Islami is junior partner in the opposition alliance headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Dhaka, Crescent-online
July 17, 2013, 11:43 EDT
The government of Prime Minister Hasina Wajid is pressing ahead with its controversial trials of old enemies. She insists on opening old wounds dating back to the creation through Indian military invasion of Bangladesh in 1971. In a series of trials held at a special tribunal, pompously called the International War Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh, leaders of the Jamaat-e Islami Bangladesh have been hauled in and given outlandish sentences.
Ali Ahsan Mojahid, Secretary General of the Jamaat-e Islami became the latest victim of this kangaroo process. He was sentenced to death today on charges of kidnapping, killing a journalist, a music director and a number of other people 42 years ago. Mojahid’s sentence comes two days after the former leader of the Jamaat, Professor Ghulam Azam, 90, was handed down a 90-year prison sentence.
The tribunal has been denounced by international human rights organizations as falling far short of the legal standards required to mete out justice through an open and fair trial. The Bangladeshi regime of Ms Wajid, however, is not interested in fairness. The woman is consumed by intense hatred of Islam and all those that advocate Islamic values and principles in society.
Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, while projected as the father of Bangladesh, was killed by his own soldiers in a coup on August 15, 1975. Sheikh Mujib and virtually the entire family were slaughtered in their house because these officers felt he had betrayed the people by turning Bangladesh into a family fiefdom. Hasina Wajid survived because she was away in India. Thereafter, Bangladesh underwent a series of military coups that finally led to the emergence of two major political parties: the Awami League that Hasina Wajid leads and is currently in power, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headed by Begum Khalida Zia, widow of General Ziaur Rehman, another former leader. The two ladies have intense disliking for each other.
The trials of Jamaat leaders have not only opened old wounds but also brought to the fore the underlying struggle between those committed to Islam and those advocating secularism largely of the Hindu variety. Since Bangladesh is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, there is a strong backlash against the secularization drive by Hasina Wajid.
The sentences of Jamaat leaders have led to huge anti-government protests across Bangladesh. Scores of people have been killed or injured by police in attempting to curb them. It is unlikely that these protests will die down anytime soon.
The sentencing of Professor Ghulam Azam, a 90-year-old man, and Ali Ahsan Mojahid, the Jamaat’s Secretary General would only intensify divisions in this volatile country. It is heading for more turbulent times that will affect the lives of ordinary Bangladeshis that want to have some peace and stability, not politically engineered trials that lack fairness and justice.
Since Bangladesh will have elections by January 2014, such protests are likely to continue and keep the country on edge.
END
July 17, 2013, 11:43 EDT
The government of Prime Minister Hasina Wajid is pressing ahead with its controversial trials of old enemies. She insists on opening old wounds dating back to the creation through Indian military invasion of Bangladesh in 1971. In a series of trials held at a special tribunal, pompously called the International War Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh, leaders of the Jamaat-e Islami Bangladesh have been hauled in and given outlandish sentences.
Ali Ahsan Mojahid, Secretary General of the Jamaat-e Islami became the latest victim of this kangaroo process. He was sentenced to death today on charges of kidnapping, killing a journalist, a music director and a number of other people 42 years ago. Mojahid’s sentence comes two days after the former leader of the Jamaat, Professor Ghulam Azam, 90, was handed down a 90-year prison sentence.
The tribunal has been denounced by international human rights organizations as falling far short of the legal standards required to mete out justice through an open and fair trial. The Bangladeshi regime of Ms Wajid, however, is not interested in fairness. The woman is consumed by intense hatred of Islam and all those that advocate Islamic values and principles in society.
Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, while projected as the father of Bangladesh, was killed by his own soldiers in a coup on August 15, 1975. Sheikh Mujib and virtually the entire family were slaughtered in their house because these officers felt he had betrayed the people by turning Bangladesh into a family fiefdom. Hasina Wajid survived because she was away in India. Thereafter, Bangladesh underwent a series of military coups that finally led to the emergence of two major political parties: the Awami League that Hasina Wajid leads and is currently in power, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headed by Begum Khalida Zia, widow of General Ziaur Rehman, another former leader. The two ladies have intense disliking for each other.
The trials of Jamaat leaders have not only opened old wounds but also brought to the fore the underlying struggle between those committed to Islam and those advocating secularism largely of the Hindu variety. Since Bangladesh is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, there is a strong backlash against the secularization drive by Hasina Wajid.
The sentences of Jamaat leaders have led to huge anti-government protests across Bangladesh. Scores of people have been killed or injured by police in attempting to curb them. It is unlikely that these protests will die down anytime soon.
The sentencing of Professor Ghulam Azam, a 90-year-old man, and Ali Ahsan Mojahid, the Jamaat’s Secretary General would only intensify divisions in this volatile country. It is heading for more turbulent times that will affect the lives of ordinary Bangladeshis that want to have some peace and stability, not politically engineered trials that lack fairness and justice.
Since Bangladesh will have elections by January 2014, such protests are likely to continue and keep the country on edge.
END
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