Bangladesh: On The Verge Of 1971 Closure Analysis

By SAAG-December 20, 2013 By Bhaskar Roy-1971 Closure

The execution o !amaat-e-"slami #!$"% &ssistant 'eneral (ecretary &b)ul *ua)er +olla on December 12, may be a ,atershe) in the -olitical li e o Ban.la)esh/ This comes 0ust be ore the celebration o 1ictory )ay 2December 134 ,hen the occu-yin. 5akistani army surren)ere) to the "n)ian army in Dhaka in 1971/ 6n December 13 that year, the 5akistani army an) their Ban.la)eshi collaborators #!$"% kno,n as Ra7akars, )eci)e) to execute to- Ben.alee intellectuals ,ho they belie1e) insti.ate) the 2in)e-en)ence rom 5akistan4 mo1ement/ "mme)iately a ter liberation, the !$" ,as banne) in Ban.la)esh/ The situation be.an to chan.e ollo,in. the assassination o (heikh +u0ibur Raheman in 1978 by a .rouo youn. army o icers, ,ith ma0or backin. rom se1eral 9uarters insi)e an) outsi)e Ban.la)esh/ "nsi)e Ban.la)esh, 'en/ :ia-ur-Rehman ,as a central i.ure in the cons-iracy alon. ,ith Tro0an horses like ;hon)akar +usta9ue an) Taheru))in Thakur insi)e the rulin. &,ami <ea.ue, ,hich le) the ree)om mo1ement/ :ia became 5resi)ent an) rehabilitate) the !$" -olitically/ =e also orme) his o,n -arty, the B>5/ 6b1iously, the close relationshi- bet,een the B>5 an) the !$" is not sur-risin./ ?hen the &,ami <ea.ue returne) to -o,er in 2009 ,ith an un-rece)ente) ma0ority in an election reco.ni7e) by all as ree an) air, 5rime +inister (heikh =asina ?a0e) ma)e t,o -romises to the -eo-le/ 6ne, -er-etrators o crimes a.ainst humanity in

1971 ,oul) be brou.ht to 0ustice/ (econ), terrorism ,oul) be era)icate) rom Ban.la)esh/ (k/ =asina@s secon) -romise ,as achie1e) ,ith a lot o e ort/ (he became one o the lea)in. i.ures in the ,orl) i.htin. terrorism/ But terrorism, es-ecially terrorism -romotin. reli.ious extremism, is )i icult to root out -ermanently/ Reli.ious extremism an) terrorism are closely linke) to the !$" an) sections o the B>5/ " the &,ami <ea.ue an) its alliance -artners are )e eate) in the comin. .eneral elections, it can be sai) or sure reli.ious extremism an) terrorism ,ill return/ The bi..er challen.e, ho,e1er, ,as to brin. the 1971 mass mur)erers to 0ustice/ Aor one, the !$" an) it stu)ents@ ,in., "slamic Chaatra (hibir #"C(%, ha) establishe) themsel1es across the country an) ,ere in -o,er in alliance ,ith the B>5 #20012003%/ This ,as a cruel irony o ate or Ban.la)esh/ The killers o 1971, thou.h 1an9uishe), returne) to rule o1er the 1ictors/ They ha) mana.e) to sabota.e liberation/ They also remaine) linke) to their ol) mentors in 5akistan as seen in -ost *a)er +olla execution statements rom !$" 5akistan an) 5akistan@s .o1ernment lea)ers/ "nterior +inister Chau)hary >isar &li ;han ex-resse) 2)ee- .rie 4 an) concern o1er the execution o *a)er +olla, a))in. he ,as un)oubte)ly han.e) because o his loyalty to an) soli)arity ,ith 5akistan in 1971/ 6 icially, ho,e1er, 5akistan treate) the issue as an internal a air o Ban.la)esh/ ;han calle) the action an e ort to re1i1e ol) ,oun)s/ There are ei.ht others in line to be execute)/ 6ne o them is (alau))in *a)er Chou)hary #(*C%, ,ho ,as an a)1isor ,ith a cabinet rank in Be.um ;hale)a :ia@ .o1ernment/ =is ather, the late Aa7lul *a)er Chou)hary ,as ,ith the 5akistanis, an) (*C himsel ,orke) ,ith Ra7akars/ & shi--in. ma.nate, it is alle.e) he use) one o his shi-s in 200B to lan) the ten truckloa)s o ille.al arms an) ammunition in Chitta.on., )estine) or "n)ian insur.ents es-ecially the Cnite) <iberation ront o &ssam #C<A&%/ (k/ =asina set u- t,o "nternational Crimes Tribunals #"CTs% ,hich hel) o-en hearin.s to try these cases/ $ye ,itnesses -resente) e1i)ence/ There ,ere )ocumente) e1i)ence a.ainst the cul-rits, inclu)in. ,ritin.s by some youn. 5akistani army o icers ,ho ser1e) in Ban.la)esh at that time/ "n his book 2?itness to (urren)er4, +a0or #Rt)% (i))i9 (alik has )escrie) some o these acti1ities/ The ,ork o the tribunals ha1e ace) many criticism but at the en) o the )ay countries an) .rou-s like the $uro-ean Cnion ha1e acce-te) the -rocess/ C( secretary o (tate ;erry a.ain aske) (k/ =asina on the -rocess ollo,in. *a)er +olla@s execution, but seeme) satis ie) ,ith the ex-lanation/ &t the en) o the )iscussion o1er tele-hone, ;erry a--reciate) the )e1elo-ment -ath im-lemente) by the -resent .o1ernment, ex-resse) concerns o1er terrorism, an) assure) continuin. C( su--ort to Ban.la)esh/ The $uro-ean Cnion ,as concerne) about the execution as they ha1e abolishe) the )eath sentence, an) are also in the ore ront in human ri.hts issues/ The ex-erience o

?orl) ?ar-"" an) the holocaust chan.e) the min)set/ Durin. the col) ,ar the >&T6 an) ?arsa, 5act members ,ere arme) to )estroy the entire ,orl) many times o1er/ These ex-eriences sobere) the $uro-ean countries an) ma)e them res-ect human ri.hts/ But in their e orts, the $C aile) to make any ma0or )ent on China@s human ri.hts, ,here execution is a normal a air/ China hol)s the key to $C@s economic stability an) hence cannot be talke) )o,n to/ $xecution is still 1ery much in existence in the C(/ The C( concern o1er *a)er +olla@s execution ,as much more -olitical/ ;erry ex-resse) his concern that the execution ,ill )isturb the elections an) cause urther instability/ But the -oint is that the elections slate) or !anuary 08 next is un)er threat or reasons other than *a)er +olla/ The o--osition alliance le) by the B>5 )eman)s elections con)ucte) by a caretaker .o1ernment, a -ro1ision intro)uce) in 1993 in the constitution ,hich ,as remo1e) in 2011 by the -resent .o1ernment, ollo,in. the mess ma)e by the caretaker .o1ernment in 2003/ <ea1in. asi)e 1971 to 1978 ,hen the C( stoo) a.ainst the liberation o Ban.la)esh, other,ise kno,n as the break u- o 5akistan, the C( -olicy in Ban.la)esh continues to be some,hat curious/ C( )i-lomats an) the intelli.ence community, es-ecially the C"&, ha1e )ecline) to see the !$" as terrorist incline) )es-ite a mountain o e1i)ence to the contrary/ This only su..ests lookin. at circumstantial e1i)ence, that they ,ant to hol) u- the !$" Ban.la)esh as a mo)erate "slamic -olitical -arty, rien)ly to the C(&, an) that C(& is not a.ainst "slam, an ima.e that 0eha)is an) terrorists o the mi))le east an) north & rica ha1e -ro0ecte)/ "t is ,ell kno,n that the C( has -acke) the bi..est .uns an) ba.s ull o money, an) its sense o hubris has -ushe) it to inter1ene in orei.n countries an) chan.e re.imes/ Cn ortunately, &merican orei.n -olicy executors ,hether o1ert or co1ert, -ay scant time to learn the history, culture an) tra)ition o &sian an) & rican countries to a--reciate that sense an) sensibilities/ The C( conce-t o 2.oo) Taliban an) ba) Taliban4, or recruitin. 2mo)erate4 sala ist D 0iha)ists in (yria or its i.ht a.ainst the &l *ai)a, is )ee-ly la,e)/ These -olicies )o not ,ork, an) seen time an) a.ain, they ex-lo)e/ "ra9 is a country to)ay ,here -eo-le )ie e1ery )ay in sectarian con licts an) has become a ha1en or terrorists/ ?hat the -eo-le o Ban.la)esh su ere) in 1971 is still blee)in. them/ The -ain o 1971 can be brou.ht to some closure i the main cul-rits are brou.ht to 0ustice accor)in. to the la,s o the lan)/ 6utsi)ers cannot ima.ine the su erin.s in almost e1ery Ban.la)eshi ha1e, ,ith 10 million re u.ees leein. to "n)ia/ ?orl) ?ar "" create) 3 million re u.ees/ The !$", ,hich re uses to com-ly ,ith the constitution o the country an) its electoral la,s, ha1e resorte) to ram-a.in., killin. innocent men, ,omen an) chil)ren are nothin. other than terrorists/

" elections ha1e to be -ost-one) or this reason, so be it, but 1971 must be brou.ht to a closure/ #The ,riter, +r Bhaskar Roy, is a >e, Delhi base) strate.ic analyst/ =e can be reache) at e-mail.rouchohartEyahoo/com%