Heinous Jamaat War Criminals Arrested

[TopCat]

A step towards start of war crimes trial

The government has achieved three things through the arrests of the top Jamaat leaders -- it got some extra time to question the trio on their alleged war crimes, proved its seriousness about the trial of war criminals and weakened main opposition BNP.

Jamaat leaders Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and Delwar Hossain Sayedee however have not been charged with war crimes. Rather they have been booked for hurting religious sentiment of Muslims, instigating violence, obstructing law enforcers and for several murders during the Liberation War.

But Awami League top leaders say the main reason behind the arrests is to start off the war crimes trial soon.

"A political decision has already been made within the government on the matter," a ruling party lawmaker said wishing anonymity.

The government has proof that Jamaat tried to destabilise the country to scuttle the trial of war criminals, he said.

A number of middle and top-ranking leaders said the government made the move on assurance from influential countries in the West that they would tackle any backlash from Middle East countries against the arrests of Jamaat leaders.

Besides, Jamaat's recent initiative to end a period of cold relationship with main opposition BNP following the debacle in the last parliamentary election also made the government think about a move to weaken the alliance.

The ruling party thinks that Jamaat has been trying to persuade BNP to take a firm stance against the war crimes trial.

Some senior leaders questioned the timing of the arrests. They said the government should take its time and make necessary preparations before arresting Jamaat leaders to bring them to book for their crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

A few also feared that Bangladesh might have to deal with a blow regarding expatriate workers from Middle East countries over the arrests of Jamaat leaders.

AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said none of them has been arrested for political reasons.

They were detained not because they are Jamaat leaders, but because arrest warrant had been issued against them, he said.

Hanif, also a special assistant to the prime minister, said law would take its own course against the Jamaat leaders for committing offences including the crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

Referring to the possibility of undue pressure from Middle East countries, he said the government would face them through diplomatic means.

AL Organising Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim said the government should implicate the Jamaat leaders in crimes against humanity to meet people's demand.

He said the government or the ruling party did not face pressure from any foreign country after the arrests of top Jamaat leaders.

"There was no option for the government but to arrest the Jamaat leaders since we are committed to bringing them to justice for committing war crimes," a lawmaker said preferring anonymity.

Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon said their arrests ended "a culture of impunity" by the previous BNP governments to Jamaat leaders, who continue committing crimes one after another.

Jatiya Party Presidium Member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu said although the government arrested the Jamaat leaders on charge of hurting religious sentiment of Muslims, it should bring them to book immediately for committing war crimes to fulfil people's wish
A step towards start of war crimes trial

 

[BanglaBhoot]

And, who in this thread made irrelevant comments on Islam....care to post it???Cheers!!!

Are you utterly incapable of following a logical argument. You keep going around in circles and not addressing the real issue which is the manner and legality of the arrests and the subsequent remand.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

And you guys are what ? Pakistani Dallals?

Al-Zakir is a known Razakar and so is idune

Show evidence that I have said something gratuitously in favour of Pakistan.

 

[Al-zakir]

And you guys are what ? Pakistani Dallals?

Al-Zakir is a known Razakar and so is idune

Yes to cut the throat of Malaoon like you and bharati dalals are my full time job as "Razakar" and happy about it.

 

[Al-zakir]

Jamat always been accused of having terror connection. If they really got any connection then it is the prime to unleash the bees. They do not need wait anymore. It's do or die situation. Killing Awami dogs would be consider as Ghazi because Awamis are just mushrik enemy.

If Awami will not let Jamatis breath in open air then Islami bank and other Jamat own big business should go and then bring massive disturbance on street. If Bangladesh became hostile to Jamat then Jamat should not contribute on Bangladesh economy. We will back Jamatis because Awamis are worst then dogs.

Let see how Jamat handle the issue while we make final entry.

 

[Al-zakir]

Free Jamaat leaders: Khaleda
Thu, Jul 1st, 2010 11:12 pm



Dhaka, July 1, (bdnews24.com) — BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has demanded release of top leaders of ally Jamaat-e-Islami.

In a statement on Thursday, she urged the government to stop what she said was persecution of the opposition.

BNP, the largest party in opposition, had already condemned the arrest of Jamaat's chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and central executive committee member Delwar Hossain Sayedee in a raft of cases.

Slamming the arrest of Jamaat leaders, a major ally of the BNP's political alliance, Khaleda said: "The government has held a legal and established party's top leaders, including a parliament member, in a farcical case."

"It has also set an atrocious example of political oppression in an autocratic manner by placing them on more than half a month's remand," she added.

The statement signed by Maruf Kamal Khan, press secretary to BNP chairperson, on her behalf was sent to the media after approval at the standing committee meeting.

The statement demanded immediate release of Mirza Abbas, Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, MP Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie and other party leaders and activists arrested during June 27 general strike.

Khaleda condemned the 'ruthless' police action in Mirza Abbas' Shahjahanpur residence and attack of pro-government Chhatra League on Annie.

The former prime minister claimed that BNP had not resorted to vandalism, arson or bomb explosion during the strike.

She alleged: "Rather it is the government, which resorted to violence by cracking down on a democratic and peaceful political programme like hartal."

"The government has created anarchy by carrying on oppression, murders, arrests and suppression of dissenting voices," she added.

She expressed her deep concern over the future of democracy.

Khaleda urged all patriotic political parties and people to unite against oppression.

BNP standing committee had a meeting at the party chairperson's office on Thursday night with Khaleda in the chair.

Party secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain, standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, M Shamsul Islam, MK Anwar, Sarwari Rahman, Goyeshar Chandra Roy and Anbdul Moyeen Khan were present.

Free Jamaat leaders: Khaleda | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com

 

[fallstuff]

I have said nothing in favour of the Jamaatis in this thread. What disgusts me is that the three were arrested on one ground but are being questioned on completely different issues and cases. This is highly illegal. The police cannot fish for evidence in this way. If they need to be questioned on 1971 then the magistrate should have issued a warrant of arrest on that specific charge. What has happened in fact is an abuse of police powers and is a threat to democracy in Bangladesh. That the court awarded 16 days remand when only 10 was prayed for shows the political motivation behind the court order. This is also outrageous and an undermining of the rule of law.

Old School is that good enough rapport for you? I should mention that I do not suffer fools gladly and I am not a politician so I am not so much concerned with my image. I am not scavenging for votes or trying to win a popularity contest. If people support those three and their idiotic arguments and lies then I have no need to convince them. I am looking to convince people with open minds. Most members here who are supporting the three are in fact Indians and I am not interested in swaying their opinion.

I read in the news of three Jaamati leaders have been arrested. I do not see Jamaati folks with much respect, however I am interested in the technicalities of the case, is there really a case ?

Or the Govt. is just trying to score some points with some influential International parties interests ? Even though I do get whose water sometimes you are carrying, your legal analysis of the technicalities are very interesting.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

I read in the news of three Jaamati leaders have been arrested. I do not see Jamaati folks with much respect, however I am interested in the technicalities of the case, is there really a case ?

Or the Govt. is just trying to score some points with some influential International parties interests ? Even though I do get whose water sometimes you are carrying, your legal analysis of the technicalities are very interesting.

A case is built on evidence and testimony and success depends on the credibility and strength of the material and legal arguments brought to court. The law, however, does not permit you to build a case on harassment and attempts to fish for information which is clearly happening in the present case. There already has to be substantive evidence for a case to commence. You cannot arrest someone on one charge and question them on a completely separate matter or as an excuse to confine and interrogate them. This is an abuse of legal process and an arbitrary use of state and police powers. Under these circumstances the court allowing 16 days remand is clearly an indication of political motivation.

Whose water I carry?????? Should I be carrying anyone else's water?

 

[Al-zakir]

BNP to extend support to any Jamaat programme


Main opposition BNP will extend support to and join in any programme of movement by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami for the release of the party's arrested top leaders.
BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said this while talking to reporters after a joint meeting of the party and its front and associate organizations at its Nayapaltan central office on Friday noon.
"We'll extend support to their (Jamaat) programme as the party is a victim of the blueprint of the government's conspiracy as Jamaat extended support to our programme and as it remains with the anti-government movement," Delwar told the reporters.
He further said that BNP will also take programme on its own to this end. The BNP joint meeting, presided over by the party's secretary general, was held to prepare for making the July 7 countrywide human chain a success.
On June 28, from a protest rally at Muktangon, BNP announced the human chain programme to demand release of the leaders and workers of the party and its front and associate organizations who were arrested during the June 27 hartal and withdrawal of the false cases against the arrested.
The BNP secretary general asked the government not to obstruct their July 7 countrywide human chain programme. He cautioned that the consequences of any government obstruction to their human chain programme would not be good as has been proved in the past. The joint-meeting was attended by senior leaders of BNP and presidents and general secretaries of the front and associate organizations of the party. On Thursday night, BNP national standing committee, the party's highest policymaking body, sat in an emergency meeting with Khaleda Zia in the chair.
The standing committee meeting discussed the latest political developments, particularly its strategy over the arrest of its ally Jamaat-e-Islam's three top leaders Matiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid and Delwar Hossain Sayedee. The Jamaat leaders were arrested on Tuesday.

leading news

 

[idune]

This Awami venture sure will come back to implicate Hasina for killing logi boitha vitims and Motiur Rahman/Mafuz Anam for publishing cartoon/article in Soptahik .2000

 

[Tameem]

Jul 13, 2010 Posted on Jul 13, 2010 in Articles | 0 comments
It is about anything but the 1971 liberation war

Shimul Chaudhury

By this time the people of Bangladesh have come to know very well that the blasphemy allegation against Jamaat leaders (who espouse to establish the Prophet’s way of life in Bangladesh) is not only unfounded and pointless but also ridiculous and laughable. Hence, as usual, with the help of a section of the media, Awami League has recycled its typical weapon of public sentiment of the 1971 liberation war to use and re-use it against political opponents. As a result, unfortunately, many people in Bangladesh are made to believe that Jamaat leaders should be punished for their political stand on the decades-old question of political separation of our land from Pakistan. But as citizens of Bangladesh and as our children do not live in foreign lands, we should look at the Bangladeshi political culture at a much deeper level.

All the allegations of Jamaat’s collaboration with the Pakistani army are still theories, and are not based on facts or evidence. Moreover, after the liberation of Bangladesh, people of Jamaat-e-Islam have not waged a war against the country; conversely, they have completely accepted and showed total loyalty to Bangladesh. What is more, since the birth of Bangladesh they have not launched any campaign to re-join Pakistan.

Post-1971 Bangladesh is not a better place to live, and this is not because of independence, but because of the failure of the successive governments that have ruled the country ever since. Jamaat is not the author of the wide range of political and social evils that have been crippling the country for a very long time. Just imagine the rate of criminal activities and social diseases in present day Bangladesh involving money extortion, bribery, embezzlement of public coffers, negligence of duties in public offices, and so on and so forth. In all these respects, even enemies of Jamaat agree that Jamaat people are more responsible citizens. They are better parents in the family, more dutiful employees in work places, and more considerate and caring in collective life in society. If such people are marginalized and penalized, the ultimate sufferer will be the country itself. Many of our political leaders and intellectuals may not be concerned about this long-term damage for the simple reason that the future of their children lies in more affluent countries where they have settled down. So they play up with Bangladesh, as they have little to lose if the country’s future becomes bleak.

In the consciousness of patriotic people in Bangladesh, the concept of East Pakistan and West Pakistan is history now. However, those who want to fish in muddy waters and exploit the 1971 events against the interest of Bangladesh have reasons to rekindle the 1971 sentiment again and again. Since they want to exploit the country politically and economically, a perpetual mental division among the people of Bangladesh on the question of the country’s liberation is necessary. They want to keep Bangladeshi people unaware of how and why their country is lagging behind and how it is becoming increasingly weaker – politically, economically and militarily.

Many countries in the world have unpleasant past histories. They take lesson from the past and try not to relapse into past mistakes. But they do not let their history be a quagmire for them. Nor do they allow it to distract their attention from the pressing issues of the present and from their obligation for a better future. But what have we Bangladeshis been doing since the country’s independence? Have we given enough attention to ameliorate the condition of the country? Instead of waging a consistent war against the corrupt and the mischief maker, we have been branding a section of population as’collaborator’ and giving them bad names, and thus making them isolated. A divided Bangladesh is more vulnerable to foreign aggression, while a united Bangladesh is capable of frustrating all colonial interests.

Who are the beneficiaries of these malicious political vendettas? The dividend of all our unnecessary political wrangling goes to those who want to destroy our defence system and to make us economically dependent. They have already wrought havoc to our defence system through the BDR carnage and through killing dozens of military officers on 25 February 2009. As a result, post-February-2009-Bangladesh is much more vulnerable and more exposed to foreign aggression. Our enemies want to remove any obstacles to the full realization of their political ends of the weakening of Bangladesh. And this is the reason why they have singled out Jamaat and BNP for political repression.

If the events of the 1971 war were the main reason for this arrests and tortures, a number of Awami League and Jatiya Party leaders would have been in prison by this time for their Pakistan sympathies at that time. Maulana Delwar Hossain Saidee entered active political life in the late 1980s. He does not bear any political taint involving our liberation war. His arrest explains to us the extent of manipulation of 1971 events by Awami League and the pro-Indian lobby in Bangladesh. Using the 1971 sentiment for partisan political interests and for dividing the country will portend a bleak future for our children. Although the children of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and of her sister Sheikh Rehana do not stay in Bangladesh, I request her to consider the future of our children and not to lead the country to a state of civil war. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should work hard to remove the taint of BAKSAL politics that the Awami League has been carrying for so long.

 

[Imran Khan]

whats goig on in BD man 1971 is nothing today but a score game in BD,

 

[Skies]

Awami League has recycled its typical weapon of public sentiment of the 1971 liberation war to use and re-use it against political opponents.



In the consciousness of patriotic people in Bangladesh, the concept of East Pakistan and West Pakistan is history now. However, those who want to fish in muddy waters and exploit the 1971 events against the interest of Bangladesh have reasons to rekindle the 1971 sentiment again and again.

Only AL is rekindling the past although people are not interested.

I hate deceiver-AL from the bottom of my heart with logic and without logic.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Bangladesh arrests are opening act of war crimes tribunal

By David Montero, Correspondent / July 14, 2010
DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s government on Wednesday arrested two of the country’s leading Islamist politicians, charging them with committing mass murder during Bangladesh’s liberation war from Pakistan in 1971.

Both men are members of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, the country’s largest fundamentalist party. Their detention comes after the government arrested three of Jamaat’s top leaders, including the party’s head, Motiur Rahman Nizami, in late June, sparking street riots that wounded more than 80 people.

The arrests, which have effectively neutralized Jamaat’s leadership, are the opening act in a tribunal that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed established in March to try war crimes committed during 1971.
1971 Bangladesh atrocities

The government claims it has evidence that Jamaat-e-Islami collaborated with the Pakistani Army, which killed, according to some figures, as many as 3 million Bangladeshis – most of them fellow Muslims - and raped more than 200,000 women.

On the one hand, analysts say the trial could be a model for the world: a Muslim-majority democracy trying one of the modern world’s worst acts of religious extremism.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Hasina has harassed Jamaat-e-Islami with strong-arm tactics that undermine the rule of law, according to critics, as a result of which Jamaat has vowed to retaliate, possibly with violence. Fears already abound that the tribunal could now ignite a social explosion.
Starting a war crimes tribunal isn't easy

“The Jamaat leaders will make every effort to stop this trial. Will it be a political resistance? Will it be a hidden, violent resistance through terrorism? All possibilities should be taken into account, and we should be prepared accordingly,” says retired Bangladeshi Maj. Gen. Muhammed Abdur Rashid, an independent political analyst in Dhaka.

Starting a war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh has not been easy. Past efforts have stalled or been swept aside for 40 years, given that a trial threatens to implicate many of those currently or recently in power. But Hasina won a landslide victory in 2009 on campaign promises that she would do just that. The stakes are personal for her Awami League party: the core of Bengali nationalists, they were one of the main targets of the brutality in 1971.

Many questions still hover over Hasina’s tribunal, including the extent of reliable evidence, the list of witnesses, and the number of accused. Last week, the government banned about 40 suspects from leaving the country, indicating that the proceedings would begin soon.

But one thing seems certain, observers agree: Jamaat-e-Islami’s leadership will come under scrutiny during the trial.
What does this mean for the political party?

It’s a troubling moment for the party. Jamaat has been able to build a solid base as a legal, respected party, with some 12 million supporters here.

It has managed to weather accusations – long held but never proven – that it secretly supports militancy. In 2001, the party even won 17 seats in Parliament, and took three ministerial posts.

Hasina’s tribunal threatens to dig up a past Jamaat would rather forget.

International scholars and living witnesses have all accused Nizami and other Jamaat leaders of directing militias - known as Razzakars - that killed Bengali Muslims and Hindus in 1971. The fighting began after Bengali nationalists, accusing Pakistan’s leadership of economic, cultural, and political exploitation, took up arms.

Scholars point out, however, that the vast majority of crimes committed during the 1971 war, were not committed by Jamaat-e-Islami, but by Bangladeshis who sided with Pakistan.

Jamaat-e-Islami vehemently denies the charges. But many believe the government has a solid case, as well as wide sweeping public support. That is why the government’s approach has been so disappointing, observers say.

Hasina’s government has not simply arrested Jamaat’s leaders for war crimes. Instead, it has implicated Nizami and others in dubious cases, observers here say, including for religious blasphemy, the murder of a rickshaw puller during a street protest, a sedition case, and for attacking the police. War crimes charges were only later added to the list.

This approach threatens to undermine the integrity of the proceedings, observers say. And it could backfire. Nizami and others – who may actually be guilty of war crimes – will have to be let go if evidence for these others offenses is not sufficiently supplied.

“The arrest for such apparently trivial … charges, as opposed to crimes against humanity, has created an opportunity for … the opposition to come up with a statement demanding their release and terming the detention as politically motivated,” Mozammel H. Khan, of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh, wrote in a recent editorial in The Daily Star, Bangladesh’s leading English newspaper.

Jamaat vehemently protests the government’s actions. “This issue has no legal basis, no moral basis. It has been overplayed,” Jamaat’s assistant secretary, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, told the Monitor in a recent interview.

Hasina’s government seems determined to proceed. Mr. Kamaruzzaman was one of the two arrested on Wednesday. He is being charged for his alleged role in killing more than 300 people in 1971. During an interview before his arrest, he insisted on his innocence.

“The media has made me so important – one of the top 10 war criminals, according to the press. It is because I am actively involved in politics. If I was not in politics, nobody would have remembered me,” he said.
An opportunity to start fresh? or incite violence?

Analysts here worry that the arrests, by focusing narrowly on Jamaat, will distract from the larger significance of the trial: because Muslims killed other Muslims in the name of Islam, and were never punished, a culture of extremism has taken root with impunity in Bangladesh. The tribunal is a chance to address that larger injustice, not just skewer one party, observers say.

“This trial can be a new moment. It will be a great moral defeat for the forces of extremism,” says M.A. Hasan of the War Crimes Fact Finding Committee, a private organization that has been collecting evidence on behalf of the tribunal.

Before his arrest, Kamaruzzaman insisted to the Monitor that his party would follow legal procedures to prove its innocence.

But he added that militancy might be the last resort for his party’s younger followers if the government continues harassing his party.

“It is very difficult to control the younger people at such an emotional issue. We are afraid some of them can go for underground militancy, for retaliation,” he said.

It may be an empty claim. But many here are now bracing for what could be more violence. Still, they say, the price would be worth it.

“This trial is very needed. We should have tried them much, much earlier,” says first year college student Jahir Ruslam Joy. Standing next to him, his friend, Dipak Detisha, interjected, “We are ready to face the violence for the greater sake of the country.”

Bangladesh arrests are opening act of war crimes tribunal - CSMonitor.com

 

[Al-zakir]

Only AL is rekindling the past although people are not interested.

I hate deceiver-AL from the bottom of my heart with logic and without logic.

No son and daughter of human can support Awami league. These scum fall bellow dog level. When world is moving ahead with present and future issues in hand but it's unfortunate that only BD keep taking it's people in back.

Awami is the real enemy of our people and progress to the nation. It is our duty to demise this h#arami from BD. So let's get ready because time is near.