Bangladesh has recently been plagued by huge daily demonstrations. These protest marches in the heart of Dhaka, the country’s capital, are upending the nation’s politics and illustrating how heavily the country’s bloody past still weighs on its present.
Protests have intensified since they began a couple of weeks ago, after Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami party, was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life in prison. Many protesters see the life sentence as too lenient and are demanding the death penalty for Mollah.
The ongoing war crime trials are threatening to plunge the country into chaos.
I think the recent judgment on Mollah seems to have been politically motivated. The Jamaat, which was seen as opposing the war of liberation, is a supporter of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which is a main opposition party in the country and its leader is a bitter rival of Sheikh Hasina, the current premier. It must be recognized that those found guilty of playing a negative role during the country’s liberation war have already been penalized for their acts. It will seem worthless after a span of four decades to try the same person twice for the same crime. While public opinion can sometimes be overwhelming and exaggerated, the parliament must be seen to be doing the right thing, especially if its decision can bring about chaos in the country.
Democracies all over the world allow for freedom to political dissension and there is no cause why Bangladesh should not do so. Criminals of the war crimes should be castigated but they should not be deprived of the right to a fair trial. Through biased legislative or state maneuvers to prove the innocent guilty just to satisfy the protesters in the street is certainly not called for in a democratic country. — Shaukat Naeem Ghumman, Riyadh
Bangladesh sliding into chaos
