The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday urged judges
of the international crimes tribunals to ‘consider the aspiration of the people
while delivering verdicts’ and vowed to do ‘everything to ensure the maximum
punishment of war criminals.’
Hasina, also the leader of the house, said this speaking
on a point of order in the parliament. She expressed solidarity with the
ongoing Shahbagh protests that passed the sixth consecutive day on Sunday
pushing for death penalty for war criminals.
‘It is the tribunal which will dispose of the cases in
line with the law. Even after that, I ask them to consider people’s aspirations
in giving verdicts,’ Hasina said.
Congratulating the youths, Hasina said, ‘Their vow and
each of their demands are very much logical. We support them and will do
whatever is needed to fulfil their aspirations.’
‘We also want that the accused are given the maximum
punishment. We all express solidarity with you [youths protesters at
Shahbagh],’ she added.
The prime minister said that the government would amend
the ICT law to enable the prosecution to appeal against the verdict.
Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, called
on all to cooperate with the government to execute final verdicts against the
war criminals.
She proposed to call the Shahbagh crossing ‘Tarun
Prajanma Square’ (New Generation Square) as she said that there was a ‘smell of
Pakistan’ in the name of Shahbagh.
The prime minister praised the youths for their
‘unprecedented role’ and said that she would now ‘die in peace’ after being
assured that ‘razakars’ (collaborators) would get no place in Bangladesh which,
she said, was manifested in the protests of the youths against the forces that
worked against Bangladesh during the war in 1971.
After the prime minister’s speech, the speaker, Abdul
Hamid, on behalf of the parliament expressed solidarity with the Shahbagh
protests.
The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, earlier said that war
criminals would be meted out the ‘maximum punishment’ (death penalty) in line
with the ‘aspirations of the entire nation.’
Echoing several ruling alliance lawmakers who spoke
before her, the agriculture minister, Matia Chowdhury, saluted the youths for
their untiring protests that would ‘guide the trial onto the right track.’
Coming down heavily on opposition leaders for their
‘anti-trial remarks,’ the lawmakers demanded ‘exemplary punishment’ of leaders
of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party who ‘demanded dissolution of international
crimes tribunals and are speaking against the tribunals.’
They also asked the government to take immediate steps to
ban the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
saying as ‘the entire nation has now stood united against anti-liberation
elements.’
The lone independent lawmaker, Fazlul Azim, however,
asked the political parties not to ‘show curiosity’ about the Shahbagh protest
as ‘it is in the real sense a people’s protest.’
He also asked why the process of war crimes trial ‘has
been called into question’ and stressed ‘the need for keeping the trial free of
politicisation and for ensuring international standards in the trial.’
He also asked ruling party lawmakers to visit Shahbagh
instead of speaking in the parliament.
But the independent lawmaker could not finish his speech
amid opposition by ruling alliance lawmakers that prompted him to walk out
later when the speaker switched off his microphone.
The unscheduled debate began when treasury bench member
Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim stood up on a point of order and started speaking
about the Shahbagh protests.
Citing a statement of the former Bangladesh Supreme Court
Bar Association president Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, also an adviser to the BNP
chairperson, Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Selim said that Khandaker Mahbub had called
for dissolution of the international crimes tribunal.
He said, ‘Khandaker Mahbub demanded the trial under the
supervision of the United Nations dissolving the tribunals and other BNP
leaders, including Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar, Mahbubur Rahman, are speaking
against the tribunal.’
He said that any of them had neither taken part in the
independence war nor gone to India. ‘Mahbubur Rahman [BNP standing committee
member] was a razakar [collaborator],’ he added.
‘Earlier Khaleda Zia had also demanded the release of war
crimes suspects,’ he added.
Asking the BNP to stop hatching ‘conspiracy against the
trial,’ the lawmaker said, ‘Those who are now speaking against the trial should
be also be tried and meted out an exemplary punishment.’
Former law minister Abdul Matin Khashru said that the
Shahbag protests ‘will strengthen the hands of the tribunals trying war
criminals.’
Although AL lawmakr Tofail Ahmed and JP lawmaker Mujibul
Haque Chunnu asked the speaker to pass a resolution expressing solidarity with
the Shahbagh protests, the chief whip, Abdus Shahee, opposed it, resulting in
no resolution being taken in this regard.
The state minister for housing and public works, Abdul
Mannan Khan, Murad Hassan, Abdul Mannan, Tarana Halim, Chemon Ara Begum, Kamal
Ahmed Majumder, Subed Ali Bhuiya, Zunaed Ahmed Palak, AKM Mozammel Haque, Tajul
Islam and Israfil Alam , among others, spoke on the point of order.
The Workers Party of Bangladesh president, Rashed Khan
Menon, and the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal executive president, Mainuddin Khan
Badal, also spoke. (Read the original story)