Bangladesh: Death for a war criminal

EDITORIAL : Daily Times

A war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh has finally closed one of the chapters in the country’s long, hard journey from the atrocities of 1971. Sentencing Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the 73-year-old vice president of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to death, the tribunal has shown just how far Bangladesh has come when bringing to justice those who really deserve it. Delwar Hossain has been found guilty of heinous war crimes such as looting, kidnapping, rape and murder. He is guilty of leading a militia — Al Badar — consisting of JI recruits, on a mass campaign of murder and rape in 1971. This man has been held accountable for two murders, 100 forced conversions of Hindus to Islam and the rape of three Hindu girls over a period of one week. Militias such as this were the non-state arms of the Pakistan army doing with wanton abandon what our national army could not. Supported and endorsed by Pakistan, the amount of suffering and misery we inflicted on our brothers and sisters in what was then East Pakistan is only now being brought to light and justice by the war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has had its own tormented history full of military intervention and struggles for democracy. Now that the country has found a stable democratic footing, it is looking to bring to book those who are suspected of war crimes most foul. Delwar Hossain’s sentencing has brought his JI loyalists out onto the streets in protests that have killed more than 50 people. This is nothing but further testament to the pain and suffering this one man inflicted. Bangladesh is, meanwhile, considering a complete ban on the JI, which is a statement in itself. The wounds of 1971 are finally beginning to heal for a country that was once a part of us. Pakistan is still far from this space of accountability as it has yet to reconcile itself to the truth. We have brushed the atrocities of 1971 under the carpet — the reign of terror and outright murder has been suppressed by our power brass so much so that our collective memory has been wiped clean of the fact that the war of 1971 ever happened. Even our school curriculums and textbooks have erased all references to East Pakistan, leaving our coming generations clueless as to what actually happened. While Bangladesh is taking hard but determined decisions to open old wounds, Pakistan is still ignoring its role in these war crimes. It would do us a world of good to open our eyes to the truth the whole world has seen for too long now.