War crime charges in focus before Bangladesh polls
by Anis Ahmed
Decades-old allegations of support for Pakistan in its 1971 battle to
maintain control of Bangladesh and complicity in war crimes in that
conflict are taking on a new life ahead of elections planned for next
year.
In line with the "roadmap" of the country's army-backed interim
government for the polls expected around the end of 2008, the Election
Commission has been talking with major political parties on reform plans
that include registration of parties.
The Awami League - one of Bangladesh's main parties which led the
then East Pakistan to independence through the nine-month 1971 war - has
asked the commission not to register any party that sided with or
supported the Pakistani army against Bengali nationalists. Many
Bangladeshis charge Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's biggest
religion-based political party, with opposing independence from Pakistan
in 1971 and complicity with the Pakistani army in killings, rape and
other alleged atrocities.
However, since independence Jamaat has steadily rebuilt itself into a
strong political force, and was often courted by other parties for
support in elections.
Jamaat always denied war crime charges, and on Thursday Jamaat
secretary-general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid said: "Bangladesh has never
had any anti-independence elements nor any war criminals." Mujahid, a
minister in the government of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia,
also told reporters after a meeting with the election commissioners that
the "demand for not registering any party on religious grounds is
illegal and unacceptable".
The Awami League - the political vehicle of former prime minister
Sheikh Hasina - and its allies want a ban on parties like Jamaat from
the coming election. Acting Awami League chief Zillur Rahman, reacting
to Mujahid's comments, said the "whole nation knows what their (Jamaat's)
role was during the war, in which three million people were killed and
thousands of women lost their chastity."
"The (election commission) must ban them ... should it want to hold a
truly free and fair election, and keep the spirit of independence
alive." Jamaat was a key ally in the government of Khaleda, who ended
her five-year term in October last year. The Awami Leage and other
critics have also claimed Jamaat harboured Islamist militants linked to
a wave of bombings in Bangladesh in late 2005 which killed dozens of
people and wounded hundreds, accusations it has denied. Hasina and
Khaleda are currently in jail, awaiting trial for alleged corruption,
charges they say are unfounded and politically motivated.
DHAKA, Reuters |