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COMMENTARY: War Crimes Trial

Khaleda's remark unfortunate

Mahfuz Anam
Political rhetoric knows no bounds in Bangladesh. Our leaders say practically anything they feel like regardless of any respect for either facts or personal reputation. Because of the preposterous nature of their remarks we usually do not pay much attention to them.
There was, however, one point that Khaleda Zia made in her speech in Sylhet last Tuesday, while referring to the
war crimes trial, which we felt needed to be responded to. She said if the war crimes trial is to be held then the trial for atrocities committed by Rakkhi Bahini during the early days of our independence must also be held.
Earlier, on various occasions, she made numerous remarks about the war crimes trial, questioning its standard, fairness, and practices. At one stage she even said there were many war criminals within Awami League who must also be tried.
However, her latest remark is in a class of its own, and we as freedom fighters must all react. What does Khaleda Zia mean when she says if the war crimes trial is to be held then the trial for atrocities committed by Rakkhi Bahini must also be held? First, some very general questions: Why should a trial relating to one atrocity be linked with another? Why does one have to be linked to another except to stop the one that is already in the process? Since when does the reckoning of one crime have to be linked to another? Second, without questioning the veracity of her claim, we can ask: are the two crimes comparable? Is it her view that the wholesale slaughter of our people, the crimes against humanity, the murder of hundreds and thousands of innocent men, women and children, the rape of thousands of women, the plunder and destruction of millions of homes, the genocidal activities that triggered one of the largest refugee influxes in the post Second World War era, and the slaughter of our intellectuals are comparable to what Rakkhi Bahini did during the few years of its existence? Even if we admit, for argument's sake, that Rakkhi Bahini committed unspeakable crimes, can that be comparable to the genocide against our people?
We strongly feel that Khaleda Zia has made light of the atrocities of 1971 by equating them with the activities of Rakkhi Bahini. It is extremely disturbing that the fundamental facts of our hard won independence are made a mockery of by such comparisons. We have not forgotten that there was a time when even mentioning atrocities committed against our people was not permitted. We had to say "Hanadar Bahini" and not "Pakistan Army" in identifying those who wanted to obliterate us as a people and as a culture.
Khaleda Zia has every right to ask for the trial for all atrocities committed in the past and we support her demand for an investigation into and trial for crimes committed by Rakkhi Bahini. But when she makes the much coveted war crimes trial conditional on a trial for Rakkhi Bahini crimes then we have no option but to raise high our voice of protest. There are many dark spots in our chequered history, and all such instances should be investigated. The secret trial and death sentences of
many army officers during the regime of Ziaur Rahman should also be looked into.
Our problem lies in the fact that each side demands justice only in the case of those instances that it supports politically, totally overlooking instances of atrocities of serious magnitude just because those do not suit our special view of history.
With all our partisan politics notwithstanding, we expect that at least our Liberation War will be a part of our history that all political parties, except of course Jamaat, will not only accept but feel most proud of. The sacrifices of our people for our independence are a matter that we must hold close to our hearts, and that must be shouted from rooftops with the greatest of pride.
Khaleda Zia must understand that the war crimes trial is not an Awami League demand. It is a people's demand which Awami League articulated and worked to bring about.
The people of Bangladesh have waited for long 38 years to see it take place. It is not just a fact of punishing a few people who worked against our independence and participated in genocide against us. Its significance is far deeper. This trial is a debt we owe as a nation to the millions of our martyrs. Bringing people, who tried to subvert the birth of our state, to justice is a part of the very struggle that brought us freedom. There is no vengeance here but only justice. This is an effort to establish the truth these people and their supporters have tried to deny for the last four decades.
It will be our ardent hope that the leader of the opposition will rethink her position on the war crimes trial and lend her support to what the people desire, and that she will not belittle either our history or our source of national pride by bringing in comparisons that are neither justified nor desirable.