Vendetta after 42 years
by: Abida Rahmani
Jamaat -i- Islami leader Abdul Qadir Mullah has been hanged at 10:01 am in Dhaka
yesterday for his war crimes in 1971 war. After 42 years and gone through so
much Hasina Wajid and her government is out there for Vendetta and out right
revenge. Then in 1971 he must be a young man of Islamic Chatro shango ( Islami
Jamiat -i Tulba) . Their prime crime at that time was to be against the division
of Pakistan .They believed in oneness of Pakistan and sided with Pakistan army
forming Al shams and Al badar paramilitary groups. Fighting their rivals or
mukti bahini (the freedom fighters) they must have committed some atrocities.
They were the same Bengalis, considered as patriotic Pakistanis.
Who is going to count the atrocities and genocide done by Mukti bahini? They
slaughtered millions of innocent people, looted, plundered, raped and uprooted
millions.
. Most of those were non Bengalis, the Urdu speaking called Biharies and those
from West Pakistan called Punjabis. They joined hands with Indian army and
fought guerilla war against Pakistan army in making East Pakistan as Bangla Desh.
It was one of the most tragic episodes of Muslim history. Muslims fought Muslims
a worst kind of civil war, maligned by language and political affiliation.
The world has come a long way after that. All these issues seemed to be settled
down and forgotten or buried in time and history. In 2011 these cases or
allegations dug out again , Awami league government of Hasina wajid was all out
to take revenge and Vendetta to establish popularity in their secular masses.
Fears that the execution could spark further unrest in a country that has been
plagued by political violence for much of the year were soon realized as reports
emerged of street battles in towns and cities and 27 people are reported killed
in the clashes. It is reported that due to violent clashes Dhaka has lost
contact to rest of the country.
.
In Washington, a State Department representative said Bangladesh was passing
through a “very sensitive moment”, urging all parties to resolve their
differences peacefully. “We’ve long urged the authorities to assure that trials
are free, transparent and in accord with international standards, but we’ve also
urged all parties and their supporters to express their views peacefully and
again, to refrain from violence,” said deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf.
Authorities went ahead with the execution despite widespread international
appeals against the move, including from the United Nations’ Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon.
The government carried out this execution in haste just before the general
elections which are scheduled next month to show its authority and control.
“It’s an historic moment. Finally after four decades, the victims of the
genocides of 1971 liberation war have got some justice,” deputy law minister
Quamrul Islam told AFP.
“It’s the best gift for (the) nation as we celebrate the Victory Day on December
16,” he said, referring to the national day that marked Bangladesh’s
independence war victory against Pakistan.
His wife and children were allowed a final meeting with him at the prison hours
before the execution, and found him to be “calm”.
“He told us that he is proud to be a martyr for the cause of the Islamic
movement in the country,” his son Hasan Jamil told AFP.
Shortly after the execution, Molla’s body was driven by police escort to his
home village in central Faridpur district, where he was buried beside his
parents’ graves in a pre-dawn service attended by around 300 people.
JI has called the execution a “political murder” and warned of revenge for
“every drop” of Molla’s blood.
There is a sharp divide in Bangladesh, thousands of secular protesters erupted
in celebration as news of the execution came.
After a trial by a much-criticized domestic tribunal, Molla was found guilty in
February of having been a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia which fought against
the country’s independence and killed some of Bangladesh’s top professors,
doctors, writers and journalists.
He was one of five Islamists and other politicians sentenced to death by a
domestic court known as the International Crimes Tribunal, which the opposition
says is aimed at eradicating its leaders.
The sentences have triggered riots and plunged the country into its worst
violence since independence. Some 233 people have now been killed in street
protests since January, when the verdicts were first handed down.
Hasina’s government says three million people died in the 1971 war, many at the
hands of pro-Pakistan militias led by Jamaat leaders who opposed secession from
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on religious grounds.
Abdul Quader Molla was born in the village of Amirabad, Faridpur in 1948. He was
an outstanding student and throughout achieved first class first positions. He
was a prominent educationist.. He was elected as the Vice President of Dhaka
Journalists’ Union for two consecutive terms in 1982 and 1983.
On Tuesday, a five-member panel headed by Chief Justice M. Muzammel Hossain
ruled that Mollah be put to death for his role during the war.
There are a lot of controversies in allegations against him. Even there were
some fake witnesses who charged him for committing crimes.
.
.JI is a key ally of the country's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party
headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, an archrival of current Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina.
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The government says the trials are being held at an international standard, but
New York-based Human Rights Watch has raised questions about the impartiality of
the tribunal.
This execution has scratched the wounds of 42 years back. It is the start of
another revolution in Bangla Desh. Hasina is playing with fire and her days are
numbered now!