--- On Fri, 7/30/10, S A Hannan <sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com> wrote:
From: S A Hannan <sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com>
Subject: [Shah Abdul Hannan] Press statement of Jamaate Islami on constitution, war crime and other issues
To: sahannan@yahoogroups.com, sahannan2004@yahoo.co.in, "'Abdul Wahid Osman Belal'" <awobelal@yahoo.co.uk>, "'Isha Khan'" <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Date: Friday, July 30, 2010, 1:44 AM
From: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-islami [mailto:info@ jamaat-e- islami.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 9:24 AM
Subject: Press statement of Jamaate Islami on constitution, war crime and other issues
Press Release
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam
said, the arrest of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Amir and former
Industries Minister Maolana Matiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General
and former Social Welfare Minister Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and
Nayeb-e-Amir Maolana Delwar Hossain Saidee on June 29 in a false case
filed by a government-sympathi ser quarter in connection with hurting
the religious sentiment is politically motivated.
After the arrest, they were produced on June 30 before CMM court which
granted them bail. In spite of the bail the government has shown them
arrested in some other false cases hastily lodged against them and
they are being persecuted in the police remand. They are not even
allowed to have better treatment.
After the first round of arrest of the Jamaat trio , police nabbed
Assistant Secretaries General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Kader
Molla when they went to High Court on July 13 for bail in a false case
pressed against them. Fresh cases are being pressed against them and they are being persecuted in the name of police remand. On July 25 International Crimes Tribunal prosecution cell issued warrant for arrest of Maolana Matiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul
Kader Molla. The tribunal led by its chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq
issued the warrant against Jamaat-e-Islami leaders on July 26. The
Charges of murder, rape, robbery, arson and other crimes such as forming Al
Badar, Razakar, Al Shams were framed against them by prosecution
cell chief Golam Arif Tipu are not true. We denounce the allegations
and vehemently protest against the blatant lie. Today we thank you for
giving a patient hearing to our standpoint on allegations of war
crimes or crime against humanity, taking a little pain.
He said this while speaking at a press briefing at the central office
of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on July 28. The briefing was attended
among others by Assistant Secretary General Prof Mujibur Rahman, Press
Secretary Prof Tasnim Alam, Central Working Committee member and
Jamaat Dhaka city unit secretary Hamidur Rahman Azad, MP, Central
Working Committee member Principal Izzat Ullah, Adv Jasim Uddin
Sircar, Dr Syed Abdullah Md Taher, Assistant Press Secretary Matiur
Rahman Akand Jamaat Dhaka city unit assistant secretaries Nurul Islam
Bulbul and Maolana Abdul Halim.
ATM Azharul Islam said, the Razakar (Al Badar, Al Shams) was formed
under the auspices of Pakistan government and the order was issued by the then cabinet secretary Golam Ishaq Khan, promulgating an ordinance. Members were appointed to Razakar foce under the auspices of CO, OC, Municipal Chairman and Union Parishad Chairman,there was drum beating for recruitment and CO and OC selected the members from interested candidates .They recommended to the district magistrate and superintendent of police. So in the Razakar formation process Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Sangha had no connections and none of the central Jamaat leaders were on the list of govt's Razakar gazette published by the Pakistan govt. It was none of the business of Jamaat. Razakar was formed, funded and managed by the then government.
So holding Jamaat leaders responsible for the formation of the
collaborator forces is quite unfounded and illogical. It is also an
injustice to Jamaat for the wrongs done during the War of Independence
in 1971.He said the allegations of murder, rape, robbery, arson, war crimes
and crimes against humanity brought against Jamaat quartet by the
prosecution cell of International Crime Tribunal are completely false
and fabricated. The false allegations were brought only to tarnish
their political image.He said, the so-called war crime trial is nothing but a travesty of justice and the contentious issue was settled long before. It is apparent from the initiatives of govt in the name of bringing the war
criminals to book.This is nothing but an attempt to launch attack on one of
the main opposition parties like Jamaat-e-Islami, aiming at debilitating the possible opposition from the organisation. Even some ministers calling
the Jamaat leaders as war criminals publicly long before the framing
of the war crime charge. The trial is staged only to pave the way for
the hegemonist and expansionist powers and their conspiracies to work
in the country, weeding out a patriotic and politically organised
camp.
State minister for law Adv Kamrul Islam at a 14-party meeting at
Dhanmondi on March 19 last said that Maolana Matiur Rahman Nizami,
Delwar Hossain Saidee and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid will be tried
first as the war criminals. At the same meeting Awami League joint
general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said, 'Nizami and Mojahid will
be hanged first'. Their statements before the framing of charges
against these leaders corroborate that the trial will a travesty of
justice in line with conspiracies hatched earlier.
He said, on February 24 a team of ministers and state ministers, led
by law minister Shafique Ahmed visited old High Court building where
special tribunal was set up to try the so-called war criminals. The
team was accompanied by Sector Commanders' Forum leader Lt Gen Harunur
Rashid and the Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee general secretary Kazi
Mukul. Ministers can visit the tribunal site but how can the sector
commanders' forum and Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee leaders accompany
them as they are party to this and dead against Jamaat. So we have
reasons to believe that the war crime trialis merely a drama and is going
to be staged to weaken the political opponents.
He said, we want to state that none of the Jamaat leaders were
involved in war crimes therefore there lies no scope to link Jamaat
leaders with war crimes. On January 1972 Collaborator Act was
promulgated and around one lakh so-called collaborators were rounded up.
Allegations against 36,623 over 37, 471 collaborators could not be
proved due to lack of available data. Only 2,848 of the arrested were
brought to trial. Charges were pressed against 752 crime suspects and none
of the Jamaat leaders was included in the list. On November 30 in 1973
the then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman granted a general amnesty for
all except those who were involved in rape, arson, looting and
killing. And none of the Jamaat activists was involved in such
heinous crimes and no allegation was brought against the leaders of
Jamaat-e-Islami during the one a half-year rule of Awami League
following the amnesty. Not only that no case even a First Information
Report (FIR) was not lodged with any police station in the country which
bears the testimony to their no-link to war crime.
All of you know from 1996 to 2001 Awami League didn't initiate to try
the war criminals and from 1983 to 1990 we launched coordinated
movement with BNP and AL against the then military despot H M Ershad.
In 1983 till 1990 Jamaat-e-Islami with BNP and AL took to the streets
demanding introduction of caretaker govt to the constitution and Awami
League used to consider Jamaat as their ally and also a democratic
force. Jamaat, Awami League and the Jatiya Party launched allied
movement for caretaker govt. Then Jamaat was a democratic force to
Awami League but when for a coalition government in 1991 Awami League
sent a delegation to Prof Golam Azam, seeking support of
Jamaat-e-Islami, which couldn't agree on the proposal. When AL came to
power in 1996 a 4-party alliance led by BNP was forged not only to
launch movement against the misrule of the govt but also to form a
4-party government if wins in election. Jamaat's joining with the
alliance annoyed AL seriously. People think as the party previously
annoyed, wants to take revenge on Jamaat, so it has set up a tribunal
to hold trial of its leaders' as war criminals.
He said, crimes against Humanity means any of the following acts when
committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, with knowledge
of the attack: murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation,
imprisonment, abduction, confinement, torture, rape or other inhumane
acts committed against any civilian population or persecutions on
political, racial, ethnic or religious grounds, whether or not in
violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated. Jamaat
didn't join the war it merely had a different political outlook. So as
per the International law not Jamaat leaders but 195 Pakistan army
officers were held responsible for war crime but all of these Pakistan
Army officers were later released and were not tried for war crime. They were granted amnesty by founder president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who later
sent all army officers back to Pakistan . It would be a great injustice
if Jamaat leaders are hanged though they didn't even join the war and
take up arms.
The acting Secretary General said, a section has launched a propaganda war against Jamaat on the basis of old newspaper cuttings, stories on War of Independence and the video clips made by the section as per their whims after long 39 years. Now our question is can some story books, newspaper reports and some video clippings made on their own be document for trial. In
no country a court considers such paper clippings as the documents.
He said, the Jamaat leaders, whose images the ruling quarter is trying
to tarnish, didn't flee the country after 1971 but rather stayed in
the country, took part in parliamentary polls and had been
representing people in the Parliament soon after the birth of the
nation. A few of them became ministers and served the nation. Not only
national govt Jamaat leaders also have been serving the common people being elected in local government elections as chairmen and members. If they
had committed crime against humanity people wouldn't have voted them
to power as their representatives. There is no single example of a war
criminal being a people's representative. The example of Tokyo and
Nuremberg trial is cited but those of the war criminals of the World
War II hanged there were all army personnel. They committed war crime
and went into hiding till they were pinned down. Those who are still
at large are being hunted down. So there are no similarities between
the Tokyo and Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal and the Dhaka Special
Tribunal set up by Awami League govt. Rather it is tantamount to
squeezing a confession of crime from one who wasn't at all involved in
the crime.
He said, the process initiated to try the so-called war criminals
appears to the countrymen that the judges of the tribunal, public
prosecutor, plaintiff, witness sing the same song and undoubtedly they
were picked as they are pro-Awami League and also anti-Jamaat. The way
the list of so-called war criminals made and publicized seems to be
pre-conceived and with ill-intent. Now the war crime drama
will be merely staged as the conscious citizens of the country guess
that verdict is also predetermined and the only thing remains
unaccomplished is handing down the verdict and hanging the
political preys. If the trial is being held flouting the international
laws and ethics it will turn into a complete farce, which will not be
accepted by communities at home and abroad. The false trial will be
nothing but a travesty of truth, creating the greatest tragedy of our time.
He said, even the special tribunal formed under 1973 Act has already
been called into question by the international community. Meanwhile
War Crimes Committee of the International Bar Association has raised
17 objections to the 1973 Act. It may be mentioned here that the
committee, which comprises 20 members, includes Yugoslavia
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Justice Richard
Goldstone.
He said, the present political unrest, economy slump with no
investment, skyrocketing of prices of essentials, deterioration in law
and order have almost unnerved the people. People feel quite unsafe
due to downslide in law and order situation. Unethical activities and
violence are prevailing on educational campuses. Ruling party
activists are engaged in various terrorist activities including tender
snatching, stealing, hijacking, robbery, admission business, killing
political opponents, extortion even 'women students are used to
satisfy the leaders' etc, creating an anarchic atmosphere throughout
the country. We expected that govt would concentrate on people's
welfare activities but in place of that govt has resorted to
arresting, grilling and torturing the activists of Jamaat and Shibir,
aiming at unstabilising the country's political arena. Police has
netted more than 3000 activists including Shibir leader Golam Murtaza
on July. Police in plain clothes arrested not only Murtaza but also
BNP leader Chowdhury Alam whose whereabouts is still unknown to his
family and the people. Government wants to rewind the constitution of
1972 with an aim to ban Islamic movements in the country and thus
causing a political vacuum in the country. Govt is also muddying the
waters by rewinding the settled issues of 39 years back, pushing the
country on the brink of anarchy.
He said, we are bound to say that a farce in the trial of war
criminals is going to be staged, aiming at dismantling Jamaat. We will
go on facing the govt both in court and in the street peacefully and
democratically inshaAllah. We will take up the challenge of
undemocratic and tyrannical course adopted by the govt to reign in the
Jamaat-e-Islami with the people of all strata particularly the Islamic
parties, Islamic scholars, Peers, students, labourers and the
peace-loving people at large to forge movement.
Demanding unconditional release of leaders and activists of Jamaat
and others, assurance of uninterrupted supply of gas, water,
electricity, reigning in the price hike, upholding the sanctity of the
holy Ramadan and in protest at the police atrocities, deterioration of
law and order Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami announces the following
programmes.
Programmes:
1. Demonstrations will be staged across the country on July 29
demanding the release of Jamaat amir and former minister Maolana
Matiur Rahman Nizami, nayeb-e-amir Maolana Delwar Hossain Saidee,
secretary general and former minister Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid,
assistant secretaries general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Kader
Molla and other leaders and activists.
2. Praying for the release of the leaders and activists of the
Opposition on July 30 (doa day).
3. Demanding the release of Jamaat and other opposition leaders and
activists, rallies and mass contact will held across the country
on August 4, 5, 6.
4. To press home the demands of curbing the slide in law and order,
containing the price hike, ensuring supply of gas, water and
electricity and upholding the sanctity of the holy Ramadan rallies and
protest processions will be organised in the country on August 8 and
10.
He said, we urge leaders and activists of city, district, upazilla,
and thana to extend cooperation to stage demo, hold rallies and bring
out demonstrations to make the agenda grand success.
Professor Tasnim Alam
Press Secretary
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
__._,_.___
--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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