17 May 2013 Violence against Minorities Will Defeat the Purpose of Bangladesh War Crimes Trials Dr Anand Kumar FDI Associate Key Points The issue of war crimes trials was taken up by the Awami League in the run-up to the 2008 elections. The League felt that radical elements had grown stronger because they were not punished in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Liberation War. The war crimes trials have led to unprecedented violence against minority communities. If the war crimes trials lead to ethnic cleansing or the persecution of minorities, it will defeat the very purpose of the exercise. To prevent that, the Bangladeshi Government must actively work to restore a secular, progressive and pluralistic Bangladesh that could be a model for other Muslim-majority countries. Summary The trial of alleged war criminals is a long-standing issue in Bangladesh, following its victory in the war of liberation from Pakistan in 1971. The issue re-emerged on the eve of the December 2008 elections, when it gained prominence among the civilian population, especially among the veterans of the 1971 war, the so-called freedom fighters. Sensing that popular sentiment favoured the trial of war criminals, one of the main political parties, the Awami League (AL), took up the issue in its own agenda. The League felt that radical elements have grown stronger in Bangladesh because they were not punished for their war crimes. But as the war crimes trials near their completion and verdicts start coming in, an unprecedented wave of violence has been unleashed by radical elements represented by the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami ChhatraShibir. They are now openly supported by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The main targets of this violence have been the minority Hindu and Buddhist communities and the law enforcement agencies. Analysis Jamaat-e-Islami, along with other Islamist parties, grew stronger in post-liberation Bangladesh after it was rehabilitated by General Zia-ur-Rahman. Zia came to power after the father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, was murdered by radical elements in the army on 15 August 1975. Later the party was also supported by General Ershad, who declared Islam the state religion of Bangladesh. Even after the military regime of Ershad was overthrown by a pro-democracy movement, leading to the restoration of democracy in 1990, Islamists continued to increase their influence in Bangladeshi politics. They had astutely participated in the movement for the restoration of democracy, though their reason for participation was very different. They were dissatisfied that despite making Islam the state religion, the Ershad regime had not declared Bangladesh an Islamic state. After the democratic elections that brought the BNP- led government to power, Jamaat’s support for that government further increased its acceptability in the politics of Bangladesh. During the period of four-party alliance rule, from 2001-06, Jamaat was part of the government, with responsibility for two important ministries. During this period, it started the process of Islamisation in Bangladesh. It also gave tacit support to all extremist groups, but denied any linkages when their cadres were arrested. These extremist groups targeted secular leaders. Sheikh Hasina herself narrowly escaped in August 2004, when she was attacked while addressing a rally in Dhaka. Twenty-eight of her party colleagues were killed, including Ivy Rahman, the Women’s Affairs Secretary of the AL. Such incidents made it clear that if secular politics were to survive in Bangladesh, then alleged war criminals, including the top leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami, must be tried. The demand for trials became stronger in the run-up to the 2008 elections and the Awami League agreed to prosecute war criminals if it came to power. After taking power in January 2009, Sheikh Hasina repeated her intention to prosecute war criminals. But the process was delayed as Jamaat-e-Islami, with the help of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency, managed to incite a mutiny in the Bangladesh Rifles, which nearly resulted in the fall of the Hasina Government. Despite such hurdles, the AL Government managed to start the war crimes trials. The Government expected that Jamaat- e-Islami would resist the move, in both the International Crimes Tribunals and outside on the streets of Dhaka and other cities. Page 2 of 5 Jamaat-e-Islami tried to question the validity of the International Crimes Tribunals, which were created to prosecute the alleged war criminals. Now the verdicts are starting to come in, it is also resorting to violence. The violence was muted when the first verdict came, in the case of Abul Kalam “Bachchu” Azad, as he had already fled to Pakistan where there is no danger of him being prosecuted. The second verdict imposed a life sentence on Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of Jamaat-e- Islami and now a convicted war criminal. It created a different kind of reaction among secular and progressive Bangladeshis. On 5 February 2013, they came out in large numbers to Shahbagh Square, to protest the verdict and demand capital punishment for convicted war criminals. Similar sit-ins have since taken place across the country. The unprecedented demonstrations led to Parliament amending the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, adding a provision that allowed the state to file an appeal with the Supreme Court against any inadequate sentencing by the Tribunals. This spontaneous movement has created worries for Jamaat-e-Islami and some sections of the BNP. Jamaat and the BNP have tried to denounce the Shahbagh movement for not taking up the issues of corruption and a restoration of the caretaker government. Their opposition to the Shahbagh protestors became more strident once the demonstrators started demanding a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and seizure of the various businesses it owns. The BNP which, for a while, was careful not to openly support Jamaat-e-Islami, has given up all such inhibitions and the party has come out in open support of Jamaat. Possibly to express solidarity with Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP leader Khaleda Zia cancelled a meeting with the visiting Indian President in Dhaka – a meeting her party had arranged. With the support of the main opposition party, BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami has unleashed violence against the secular, progressive elements of Bangladeshi society and the country’s minorities. Minorities have been the favourite target of radicals in Bangladesh, both in the Liberation War and now, when the government is trying to prosecute the war criminals of 1971. During the Liberation War, Bengali Muslims suffered at the hands of both Pakistani forces and their local collaborators, Jamaat-e-Islami; the minority Hindu community also faced disproportionate violence, leading to an exodus to neighbouring India. Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed in his book State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia, points out that the Hindu population fell from 18 per cent in 1971 to 13 per cent after the Liberation War. Presently, it stands at eight per cent, largely because of sectarian violence. The minority communities are once again facing similar violence at the hands of extremists, represented in a large measure by Jamaat-e-Islami and a section of the BNP. The violence intensified after the death sentence for war crimes handed down by International Crimes Tribunal-1 to Delawar Hossain Sayedee, the Nayeb-e-Ameer (Vice-President) of Jamaat-e- Islami. Jamaat-e-Islami supporters allege that Sayedee was sentenced to death because of the depositions of Hindu witnesses. This minority community has been targeted in Noakhali, Munshiganj, Dinajpur, Barisal, Gaibandha, Chittagong, Rangpur, Sylhet, Chapainawabganj, Page 3 of 5 Ghazipur and elsewhere in the country. Their houses have been burnt, women raped and temples demolished. The magnitude of the violence has forced the High Court of Bangladesh to direct the government to protect minority communities and their places of worship, which have allegedly been attacked by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP. The international community has also expressed its concern over this violence. The British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Robert Gibson, has deplored the attacks on places of worship and private property. He said, ‘Bangladesh has struggled hard and at great cost to achieve its independence and create a tolerant state where every citizen can live without fear of religious persecution and follow their individual faiths.…This great achievement risks being undermined by the callous and unacceptable actions of a few.’ The acting president of the Nirmul Committee, Shahriar Kabir, has alleged that Jamaat-e-Islami, in collaboration with the BNP, has been attacking minorities in a planned way, as it did in 1971 and 2001 to force Hindus to leave the country. Jamaat and the BNP cadres want to create a law and order problem in Bangladesh by unleashing unprecedented violence, which could threaten the pluralistic character of Bangladeshi society. It is now time for the government to come down heavily on these extremist elements. The most important objective behind the prosecution and punishment of war criminals is to restore a secular, progressive and pluralistic Bangladesh, which could be a model for other Muslim-majority countries. But if that process leads to ethnic cleansing or persecution of minorities, it will defeat the very purpose of the exercise. The Government of Bangladesh must take suitable steps to restore confidence among the minority communities, so that they feel safe while the war crimes trials progress. ***** About the Author: Dr Anand Kumar is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, with expertise in political, economic and terrorism issues in Bangladesh, India’s North-East insurgency and regional organisations. Before joining IDSA in 2007, he was Research Fellow at the South Asia Analysis Group and worked on themes related to Bangladesh, North-East India, SAARC and BIMSTEC.