More tribunals to punish all war crimes suspects sought

Speakers at a roundtable meeting yesterday demanded that the government increase the number of tribunals for quick prosecution of the war crimes suspects and not allow their burials in the country.

Two International Crimes Tribunals are currently running the trial proceedings of war crimes-related cases. 

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"Gen Ziaur Rahman released 1,100 war criminals, who had been detained during the regime of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. All those war criminals have to be tried and punished through establishing more war crimes tribunals," said former army chief Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid.

He was speaking at the meeting on "Juddhaporadhider Bichar O Muktijuddher Bangladesh (war criminals' trial and Bangladesh of the Liberation War)", organised by Sector Commanders Forum-Muktijuddho '71 at the capital's Jatiya Press Club.

Harun said the war crimes accused, who would be convicted and executed in the future, had to be dumped into the Bay of Bengal or in a jungle, since they did not have any right to be buried in the country.

"Those who were martyred in 1971 were not buried and no Janaza prayers were held for them, but the convicted war criminals have been buried and Janaza prayers were offered for them under the government protection. I protest it," he said.

Eminent journalist and cultural personality Kamal Lohani said the war criminals, who had killed people of the country, have been given the right to move appeals and review petitions against their convictions and sentences, which was nothing but ridiculing the martyrs.

He demanded that the government ban the politics of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is a "criminal" organisation according to a war crimes tribunal, bring its financial organisations under control and compensate the victims from the organisations' funds.

Maj Gen (retd) AK Mohammad Ali Shikder, who presented a written statement, demanded the capital punishment for all war criminals and urged the government to set up pillars of hatred on the graves of the war criminals.

Maj Gen (retd) KM Shafiullah, chairman of Sector Commanders Fourm, presided over the meeting where its acting Secretary General Haroon Habib, ICTs' Prosecutor Rana Dasgupta and its investigator Sanaul Haq, Prof Zia Rahman, technologist Mustafa Jabbar and editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj Shyamal Dutta, among others, spoke.