Editorial
Sector Commanders' Forum and war crimes trial
The caretaker government can set the ball rolling
The Sector Commanders' Forum, after a period of uncertainty finally has had an opportunity of organising its much-awaited convention. On Friday, a well-attended and, needless to say, well-publicised convention made it clear that the SCF is today determined that the war criminals of 1971 are prosecuted and punished under the relevant national and international laws. It is a goal which surely resonates with the vast majority of the people of Bangladesh. All of us, naturally and for very good reasons, hold the view that the principles around which the nation waged the War of Liberation must be upheld as the core upon which we build our future.
It goes without saying that we at this newspaper, and with us the 140 million people of the country, unreservedly endorse the demands put forward by the Sector Commanders' Forum at its convention. Like everyone else conscious of the nation's political legacy, we agree with the SCF that those who collaborated with the Pakistan occupation army and so committed crimes against humanity should be tried in the interest of morality and justice. At the same time, we must sound the caveat that great care should be taken that these trials, once they get underway, are not reduced to being witch-hunts or are seen to be politically motivated in any way. Clear lines need to be drawn, and clear cases made out, about those who actually participated in the genocide against Bengalis. The criminality of the supporters of the Pakistan army -- and we mean those who committed as well as helped to commit murder, rape, torture, abduction and arson -- only strengthens the moral and legal case for a war crimes trial. Apart from the national argument for such a trial, there are the international precedents (read here Cambodia, Rwanda and former Yugoslavia) upon which the case against the war criminals can be built.
We realise that the process of initiating and prosecuting such a trial may well be a long-drawn one. The caretaker government has given the nation to understand that its time-bound period in office does not allow it to undertake the move. It is heartening, though, that in principle the government has expressed itself in favour of a trial of the war criminals. Our view, therefore, is that since this very administration has initiated some commendable moves in various areas in the last one year, we think it can set the ball rolling by initiating the trial process which may subsequently be taken to a logical conclusion by a future elected government. That way, this nation can at least have the satisfaction that justice will finally be done and that the sacrifices of three million martyrs will not have gone in vain.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments