BNP's demand to stop ICT conspiratorial: Left parties
Different political parties reacted sharply to the main opposition BNP's demand for shutting down the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), saying that raising such an audacious, heinous and conspiratorial demand, BNP has taken a clear stand to protect the identified war criminals.
The political leaders termed BNP's demand tantamount to the crimes committed by the war criminals who were not only involved in killing, rape and torture but also collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces in perpetrating crimes against humanity during the War of Independence in 1971.
On Saturday, BNP demanded stopping all proceedings of the war crimes tribunal constituted on March 25, 2011 to hold trial of war criminals, a demand that had remained unfulfilled since 1971.
"The BNP has no confidence in this tribunal. It believes that in the existing legal structure, the tribunal is nothing but a servile, rubber-stamp organisation," said Barrister Moudud Ahmed, one of the influential policymakers of BNP.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Inu), Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Workers Party of Bangladesh (WPB) strongly opposed BNP's demand for cancelling the proceedings of the ICT and urged the people from all democratic forces to unitedly resist any conspiracy against the ICT and its operation.
Taking to the news agency, JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu, MP, demanded immediate arrest of Moudud for what he said trying to obstruct the trial of war criminals.
"As a political party, Jamaat-e-Islami had directly opposed the Liberation War and its leaders were directly involved in crimes against humanity such as killing, rape and torture," Inu said, adding, "These people must be tried. The ongoing trial must take its own course."
Strongly opposing BNP's demand, CPB general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim said BNP is trying to save the war criminals but the countrymen would unitedly foil such a heinous conspiracy.
"BNP's demand is audacious. We strongly oppose and reject this demand," said the politburo of Workers Party of Bangladesh.
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