Immunity to US soldiers

The first question that arises is why it was not made public. We have come to learn about it by a fortuitous turn of events when the daily Prothom Alo broke the news. A veil of secrecy was apparently maintained due to the sensitivity of the issue. That is where lies the reason for criticism.

The foreign ministry has said that around 50 countries across the world have already signed the pact and also that Bangladesh was the last signatory among the South Asian countries. But does that absolve the ministry of its responsibility to put the matter to public debate and bring it before parliament? There was lack of transparency and certain opaqueness in the handling of the matter, which are hard to explain.

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The implications of signing the agreement are not to be ignored. Bangladesh is a signatory to the Rome Statute under which the International Criminal Court was set up in 1998. The bilateral agreement with the US goes against the spirit and contents of Article 9 of the Rome Statute, which postulates cooperation with and legal assistance to the court from the nations as the basis for its functioning. But the pact will introduce mutual arrangements for dealing with soldiers facing criminal charges, instead of handing them over to the court.

Then it appears that the constitutional provision has been bypassed as the matter was not put through the due process prescribed by our Constitution. It has been mentioned very clearly in the constitution that any pact to be signed with another country must be placed before the President and he will send the same to parliament.

Moreover, it is an issue, which may have a far-reaching impact on our foreign policy. So, before taking the final decision the matter should have been examined in all its aspects through debates both in parliament and in academic and political circles. There was no scope for trifling with public opinion in a matter of such grave importance.

The government should be well advised to place the details of the pact before parliament for discussion, since it concerns our position on international norms and statues.