Bangladesh War-Crimes: Part two

In 1972, the president of Bangladesh issued an order which established special tribunals to prosecute Bangladeshi citizens who had collaborated with the Pakistani armed forces during 1971. Thereafter, India and Bangladesh agreed to bring criminal charges against certain Pakistani prisoners of war held by India.

In anticipation of these trials, Bangladesh Published Act No. XIX of 1973, which was entitled "An Act to provide for the detention, prosecution and punishment of persons for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under international law."

As Bangladesh prepared for the prosecution, Pakistan filed an action before the International Court of Justice. The basis of Pakistan's action against India was predicated on the grounds that India had detained 92,000 Pakistani prisoners of war in violation of the third and fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Pakistan claimed that pursuant to these conventions, India had the duty to repatriate these persons at the conclusion of the conflict. However, India did not continue the repatriation of the detainees that it had begun in 1972, because it claimed that it had agreed with Bangladesh to surrender to that country those persons whose number exceeded ten thousand, and who were to be charged with genocide. By 1973, the exact number was fixed at 195.

Via Bangladesh-Blogger

> Bangladesh War-Crimes: Part one

Bangladesh War-Crimes: Part one

In 1971, Golam Azam, then chief of East Pakistan wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, actively collaborated with the Pakistani military junta and helped organize paramilitary forces (called Razakars and al-Badrs) that were akin to killing squads. In the last days of the liberation war, Golam Azam fled to Pakistan.

In February 1972, the government issued a subpoena to Golam Azam to appear before a local court. Later, the Bangladesh government canceled his citizenship (along with that of thirty-eight others) on April 18, 1973.

After the liberation of Bangladesh, Golam Azam took refuge in Saudi Arabia and the UK and engaged in anti-Bangladesh propaganda.

After the coup d'etat of 1975 and the political changes that ensued, Azam attempted to return to Bangladesh. After several failed attempts, he finally succeeded in 1978 and on July 11 re-entered Bangladesh.

Golam Azam's return was made possible by a series of steps taken by the military regime. But the atmosphere for change in legal provisions that finally resulted in his return was created during the reign of Mujib.

Via Bangladesh-Blogger

> Bangladesh War-Crimes: Part two

Juvenile-Justice in Bangladesh: Part one

As in many countries, the situation of children coming into conflict with the law is an issue of serious concern in Bangladesh. The Committee on the Rights of the Child in its concluding observations of 2003 expressed its concern over "the limited progress achieved in establishing a functioning justice system".

In the absence of a proper functioning juvenile system, no accurate statistical information is available on the actual number of children in conflict with law.

The 1974 Children Act is the main law concerning children in Bangladesh, but it deals both with children in need of protection/care as well as children in conflict with the law. Other laws, such as the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, also contain provision regarding children in conflict with the law.

Related Link: Children's Voices

Key Statistics

• Child population (under 18 years) - 59.5 million
• Minimum age of criminal responsibility - 9 years
• Age when children can be tried as adults - 16 years
• Number of child development centres - 3

Via Bangladesh-Blogger

> Image by Ahmed Sharif

Super Bangladeshi

There's been a lot of talk about reversing the "brain-drain" out of Bangladesh at the ongoing conference of non-resident Bangladeshis. There have also been doubters, who suggest, this idea of retaining local talent is almost-impossible to implement.

However, Iqbal Quadir, the founder of Grameenphone suggests otherwise.

Quadir, the founder of Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), believes that this has been possible because he invested in what he calls "sweat equity".

He recognises the barriers - not only administrative and regulatory constraints, but also a negative-influence from those who believe 'change is impossible'.

"I had to struggle to make Grameenphone happen," Quadir told The Daily Star.

He recalled how he gave up a well-paid Wall Street job to follow his "radical" idea of setting up a mobile-phone network that would cut down the huge communication-gap.

"Bangladesh has 30 million mobile phones now, it has made a lot of progress so it's easy to forget how hard it was to tell people that cell phones would be so prevalent," he said.

He is investing in Bangladesh through the Anwarul Quadir Foundation & Harvard-University. The project, called "Innovations in Bangladesh", assists people pursuing innovative projects by giving scholarships worth $25,000 every year to the best idea that empowers Bangladeshis.

Via Bangladesh Blogger