BANGLADESH: ''Sayedee reaps as he sowed''

http://www.thedailystar.net

With the death sentence pronounced on Maulana Delawar Hossain Sayedee by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday, it is comeuppance for him. This has resonated with most people of the country as the Shahbagh Chattor expresses its jubilation over the verdict. Elaborate procedures have been observed with the defense and the plaintiff making out their cases based on the witness accounts as well as other evidences produced before the court. It has been a long-drawn out process after which the verdict has been delivered in pursuit of the due process of law. The defendant has already expressed its intention to appeal the tribunal's verdict. It is only after the disposal of the appeal that the legal process will have been exhausted. In the essence, the International Crimes Tribunals and their procedures have been successfully tried out with the result that the processes have been strengthened for justice to be done to the victims of the crimes against humanity in the 1971 Liberation War. It is a vindication of the long arm of law reaching the heinous perpetrators after 42 years since their diabolical acts in collusion with the Pak occupation forces. Having said that, we are shocked at the scale of violence and mayhem perpetrated by the Jamaat-Shibir elements and their supporters. The death figures reached four in Chittagong, two in Rangpur and one each in Dinajpur and Sirajganj within hours of delivering the verdict. What appalls us is the torching of a temple in Noakhali. All this can't go on, life must return to full normality. The law enforcement agencies and the BGB are doing their best to quell the disturbances and we hope the situation will be brought under control expeditiously. We urge restraint from all sides in the greater interest of our beloved country.