S. BINODKUMAR SINGH
On October 1, 2013,
the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) sentenced to death the main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) standing committee member and six-time
Member of Parliament (MP) [sitting MP from Rangunia constituency of Chittagong
District since 2008], Salauddin Quader Chowdhury (64), for war crimes during
the Liberation War of 1971. The tribunal found him guilty on nine of 23 charges that were leveled against him. He was
held guilty for the Maddhaya Gohira Genocide; the murder of Nutun Chandra
Singha; genocide at Jogotmollopara; the murder of Nepal Chandra and three
others; genocide at Unsuttarpara; the killing of Satish Chandra Palit; the
killing of Mozaffar and his son; abduction and torture of Nizamuddin Ahmed; and
abduction and torture of Saleh Uddin.
Chowdhury had been
arrested in Dhaka on December 16, 2010, and
was indicted on April 4, 2012.
Though this is the
seventh verdict by the two ICTs, thus far, the judgement is extraordinary as
the first conviction of a BNP leader. All the earlier six verdicts,
were against Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leaders. While four of them had received
death sentences, the remaining two were awarded life imprisonment. While JeI ameer (chief) Ghulam Azam (91), and,
assistant secretary general of JeI Abdul Quader Mollah were originally
sentenced to life imprisonment, the Supreme Court, on September 17, 2013,
converted Mollah sentence to the death penalty. Indeed, there had been widespread protests across the country demanding death for
Mollah after the ICT-2’s February 5, 2013, judgement.
A total of 13 high
profile leaders,
including 11 of the JeI and two of BNP, the latter including Chowdhury, have so
far been indicted for the War Crimes. The other BNP leader facing trial is
former minister, Abdul Alim. Alim, arrested on March 27, 2011 from his
residence in Joypurhat District, was indicted on June 11, 2012.
As expected, soon
after the October 1 verdict, as had happened after each of the six earlier
verdicts, violent protestors hit the streets across the country. As many as 13
people have been injured in two incidents of violent protests since October 1
(all data till October 6, 2013). According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of 171 persons,
including 74 JeI-ICS cadres, 88 civilians and nine Security Force (SF)
personnel have been killed in street violence since January 21, 2013, when the
first verdict in the War Crimes Trials had been delivered. As many as 2,795
JeI-ICS cadres have been arrested for their involvement in 202 incidents of
violence over this period.
Indeed, on May 28,
2013, the BNP had threatened to overthrow the Government through a street
movement, when BNP standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed declared,
“If the Government favours violence skipping the path of dialogue, we’ll ensure
its fall through violence, but we don’t want violence in the country… we want
peace and discipline.”
Moreover, signaling
the future course of the politics of vendetta, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's
adviser, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, warned that, if voted to power, the BNP
would try those involved in the War Crimes trials. Speaking in a similar vein,
Mirza Abbas, another member of the BNP standing committee, observed, “The
nation has not accepted the judgment… If the verdict against Salauddin Quader
is executed, the people involved with this [trial] will be charged with
murder.” Likewise, Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, chief of the Jatiyatabadi Jubo
Dal (Nationalist Youth Party), the youth front of BNP, stated, “On completion
of the tenure of this Government and Parliament ,
Bangladesh
Not to be cowed
down, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asserted, on October 3, 2013, “I believe
that we will be able to complete trials of war criminals who committed crimes
against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971 so as to free the nation
from stigma. The BNP cannot save them.” She accused the BNP Chairperson Khaleda
Zia of siding with war criminals and alleged that BNP-JeI activists have been
killing people, setting them on fire, in order to save war criminals.
Further, disproving
the BNP and its supporters’ claim that people were against the War Crimes
verdicts, people across the social spectrum have expressed strong approval for
the latest judgement, as they did of the past verdicts. Several hundred people of
all ages burst into cheers shouting Joy Bangla (Victory of Bangladesh), Jonotar
Joy Holo (People Triumphed) when the Tribunal announced its decision. Imran H.
Sarker, spokesperson of the Gonojagoron Mancha, declared, “S.Q. Chowdhury not
only committed genocide, he has challenged our independence many times in the
last 42 years. The verdict proved that the war criminals have no place in
independent Bangladesh
Likewise, Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal (Communist
Party of Bangladesh), Bangladesh Jubo Union (the youth front of Communist Party
of Bangladesh), United National Awami Party, and others, issued separate
statements hailing the verdict and demanding its quick execution. Witnesses to
S.Q. Chowdhury’s war-time atrocities also expressed satisfaction over the
verdict. Mohammad Salimullah, who owned the Muslim Press in Chittagong District
during the Liberation War and was the second prosecution witness in the case,
wept as he said, “When I was being tortured in Goods Hill in 1971, I cried in
pain and was thinking of my little daughter I left home … Today, these are
tears of joy.” He urged the BNP not to oppose the verdict and to expel
Chowdhury from the party’s standing committee.
Regrettably,
however, an unnecessary controversy has been created by the leaking of parts of
ICT-1’s verdict on Chowdhury prior to the delivering of the judgement. The
Detective Branch has launched an investigation into matter, but the leak has
undermined the credibility of the tribunal, providing an opportunity to those
who are opposing the trials to hit back. Indeed, in its official reaction to
the ICT-1 verdict on October 2, 2013, BNP acting secretary general Mirza
Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced an agitation programme, claiming, “We are
expressing our condemnation of the Government for its evil attempt to eliminate
opposition party politics in the country. We are astonished that SQC (S.Q.
Chowdhury) was deprived of justice… The text of the ICT verdict was displayed
on different websites even before its pronouncement. It was leaked from the
office of an acting secretary in the law ministry.” The State Minister for Law,
Quamrul Islam, while admitting that part of the verdict had been leaked,
stated, “This is certain that the verdict has not been leaked from the ministry
and such an allegation is baseless… People involved in the leak will be spotted
soon.” Meanwhile, on October 3, 2013, the Detective Branch of the Police seized
the computer on which the verdict delivered by the ICT-1 was drafted, in order
to track down those involved in the ‘verdict leak plot’.
Hasina’s
assertiveness in the aftermath of the Salauddin Quader Chowdhury verdict is
appreciable, and it appears clear that her determination to bring the war
criminals of 1971 is not faltering. Nevertheless, a long process remains before
the trials and appeals can be brought to their eventual conclusion, and the
elections of 2014 are quickly drawing closer. The Opposition parties have made
their intention to reverse – indeed, ‘avenge’ – the war crimes trials,
abundantly clear. Justice for the victims of the atrocities of 1971, and
emotional and political closure for Bangladesh
First published in SouthAsia Intelligence Review, Weekly Assessments & Briefings, Volume 12, No. 14,
October 7, 2013
S. Binodkumar Singh
is Research Associate, Institute
for Conflict Management
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